#90s race pickup

[radracer]

Roger Mears Nissan D21 Hardbody

[mikeywayarchive]

Mikey Way: “I was borderline terrified a lot of the time My Chemical Romance was active. I was learning the bass in front of 20,000 people every night!”

By Gregory Adams ( Bass Player ) published June 9th 2023

The reunited emo kings’ low-end ranger reveals why he swapped out his signature Fender Mustang for a sparkling new signature Jazz Bass, learning bass in arenas, and how he overcame insecurity about his chops

Full interview under cut:

My Chemical Romance’s reunion has seen bassist Mikey Way thrumming through the high pomp punk of The Black Parade and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge favorites with a familiar rhythmic fortitude, but keen-eyed band obsessives have probably noticed the musician is no longer sporting the snazzy, silver-flake Squier Mustang signature model Fender built for him back in 2012. 

The good news is that’s because, as Fender have just formally announced, Way has a brand-new – but just as glammy – Jazz Bass out now. There’s a good reason why Way’s made the switch: the Jazz Bass is his first love.

Though he started out on guitar, Way got the hang of a four-string in the mid ‘90s while playing a loaned-out Jazz Bass in his pre-My Chemical Romance project, Ray Gun Jones. He upgraded to a silver-finish Jazz of his own by the time MCR started touring in the early ‘00s, but a trailer mishap led to that instrument getting smashed to pieces on a highway.

Way tells Guitar World that he eventually became obsessed with the short-scale sturdiness of a Mustang bass guitar as My Chemical Romance were writing their 2010 full-length, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, after fooling around with a model Duff McKagan had left at North Hollywood’s Mates Rehearsal Studio. By 2012, Way had his Squier model in stores.

It was during the downtime after My Chemical Romance went on hiatus in 2013, though, that the stubbiness of his Mustang became a little hard to handle.

“I stayed away from playing bass for a little while, which is natural – I was just decompressing,” Way explains. “Then, sometime in 2014, I picked up the bass again, to get my chops back, [but] I noticed that the Mustang felt strange to me.” 

After reaching out to the folks at Fender, Way got a grip on his playing by stretching out on the longer-necked Jazzes they sent him. Way’s take on the Jazz Bass is outfitted with ’70s-style single-coil pickups, and a thinline “C”-shaped maple neck the bassist says is super-speedy.

The finish is silver, of course, but Way also wanted an aesthetically inkier black pickguard. The headstock, likewise, pops with its matching gloss-black finish.

Speaking with Guitar World, Way gets into the glam and grunge gods who inspired his love of a good sparkle coat, overcoming performance anxiety, and why a steady attack wins the bass race every time.

What were some of the musts when it came to designing this latest signature?

“I’ve been obsessed with the sparkle finish as far back as I can remember. Growing up in the ‘90s, the silver-flake [finish] was big in alternative music. Chris Cornell had the Gretsch Silver Jet, [Daniel Johns] from Silverchair had one – [with] the imagery the Smashing Pumpkins used, they liked sparkles.

“Ace Frehley, of course, was big into flake finishes, and as a kid, you love the larger-than-life, comic book world of Kiss. [And there’s] David Bowie – the glam rock stuff. That flake finish makes me think of so many different things, but that’s why I love it so much.

“I remember being younger and going into stores and seeing a flake finish and being like, 'Oh my god, that’s an expensive [looking guitar] – I can’t afford that, let alone play it.' It was almost intimidating.”

One aesthetic difference between your Mustang model and this Jazz is that you didn’t throw a racing stripe on this one.

“I thought about bringing it back and keeping the continuity. Maybe somewhere down the line we’ll throw a racing stripe on this. The thing with [seeing a] racing stripe was always like, 'This player is a badass!'”

Is there a psychology behind removing the racing stripe, then?

“The psychology behind it is that I forgot about it. When My Chemical Romance was talking about doing reunion shows [in 2019], I’d contacted Michael Schulz from Fender and was like, 'Is it OK if I make a new bass for this [next] era of My Chemical Romance?' I wanted to take my past and bring it to the future – taking my Mustang and melding it with the Jazz Basses that I loved so much. 

“I tried to have my cake and eat it, too. I wanted the thinner neck, and I wanted the silver-flake, but I wanted it on a Jazz Bass. They knocked it out of the park immediately.”

Getting back to how you used to admire those silver-flake guitars in the shops, you actually started out as a guitarist, right?

“So, the story goes that my brother [My Chemical Romance vocalist Gerard Way] had a Sears acoustic guitar when he was 10 years old. We would take a shoelace and make a strap, and we would stand on the couch pretending we were in Iron Maiden. And then it got real around ’93-’94, which lines up with the rise of alternative music. You started to see people that looked exactly like you, and they were playing guitar. They were playing Fender Strats! 

“My brother got a Mexican Stratocaster, Lake Placid Blue. I found it not too long ago, and Michael from Fender hot-rodded it. That’s how I cut my teeth – that Mexican Stratocaster [was] my first foray into really trying to learn how to play guitar. I would watch bootlegs of concerts, and watch [guitarists’] hands and fingers – Thom Yorke, Billy Corgan, Noel Gallagher, Jonny Greenwood. I would watch what they were doing. It all started from that.

“Bass came out of necessity, twice. Me and my brother had a band called Ray Gun Jones, I guess in ’95-’96. It was kind of Weezer-ish, or us doing a surf-punk thing [with] a little bit of pre-mid-west emo. At the time we were really into Weezer, Jawbreaker, Promise Ring, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Sunny Day Real Estate. 

“[Ray Gun Jones] needed a bass player, so my brother was like 'Hey, do you want to play bass for my band?' I was already a huge fan – I’d always tag along to practices. The ex-bass player let me borrow their bass. We had 4-5 songs, and I got the rudimentary from that. In that era, everyone was like, 'I want to be a guitar hero,' but I realized I had a natural knack for [bass]. I picked it up right away. 

“Then, with My Chemical Romance, it was the same thing. My brother was like, 'We need a bass player,' and I was like, 'Well, this is familiar' [laughs]. 'Here’s the demo; learn these songs.' They weren’t terribly difficult.”

Was that bass you had borrowed a Fender Jazz?

“Yup, I’ve only ever played Fender. I’ve tried tons of other basses from other companies, but it always feels alien to me.”

You mentioned studying the playing of Thom Yorke or Billy Corgan through those bootleg vids. Were there any bassists that you treated similarly, to understand the mechanics of bass?

“Matt Sharp from Weezer. I tried to ape him in the beginning, but my attack sounds vaguely reminiscent of a Smashing Pumpkins recording. I would learn Siamese Dream and Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and the Blue Album [the band’s 1994 self-titled debut] by Weezer. Those were the three albums that I put the most time into learning. That’s in my DNA.”

How about from a hyper-local perspective. If My Chemical Romance started out playing New Jersey basements and VFW halls, where there any bassists from that scene that inspired you, or that you appreciated?

“Yes! We shared a rehearsal space with this band called Pencey Prep – that was [MCR guitarist] Frank Iero’s original band. John McGuire was their bassist, and he let me borrow his equipment all the time. He taught me fundamentals, and gave me pointers – he taught me a whole heck of a lot. 

“I always respected Tim Payne from Thursday, I loved his attack and stage presence. And when I’d watch Gabe Saporta from Midtown, I thought 'This dude is the coolest guy in the room.' He’s got this calm, cool, and collected [presence] that you can’t fake or learn. And then Eben D’amico from Saves the Day – brilliant! 

“I would try to learn Saves the Day basslines. They were pretty complex [compared to] what most bands were doing in that scene. Most bands in the post-hardcore scene had simplistic basslines, but Saves the Day did not.

“There’s also Ray Toro, the guitar player of My Chemical Romance. Not only is he truly gifted at guitar, but he’s truly gifted at bass and drums – Ray can do everything. He was instrumental, early on, with showing me the ropes. Ray gave me lessons when I was a novice. I can’t thank him enough for that.”

What kind of pointers was he giving you?

“He showed me proper fretting, or [how to maintain] a steady attack. I got a really great compliment from our front-of-house guy, Jay Rigby. He told me that I’m one of the very few bass players that he doesn’t have to go in and tweak the volume [for]. 'You’re steady, throughout.' I think that’s something that Ray Toro instilled in me: the consistency of attack. 

“It’s funny thinking about it, but I was such a novice going into My Chemical Romance that I would bring myself into an anxiety-ridden state of, 'Oh my god, we have a show tonight; I have to start practicing right now.' I would be practicing four to five hours before we played – I’d play the set [in the green room], and then I’d play it again. Other bands would be like, 'What are you doing?' I was so neurotic at that point, because there were so many people around me that were beyond gifted. 

“I got pushed into the deep end; you’ve got no choice but to figure it out. Ray and Frank are so gifted that I had to keep up. I didn’t want to ever do the music a disservice.

“That brings me back to the simplicity of the early My Chem basslines. The first album [2002’s I Brought You Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love] was me learning the bass, and somehow [producer] John Naclerio recorded me and said, 'You did a great job,' which I did not expect. 

“I thought I was going to go in there and they were going to have to do some studio magic, or someone would come in and play [my] part. I thought of the worst-case scenario, but I went in and did it. I played the bass seriously [enough] by that point.”

What are you generally looking for in a My Chemical Romance bassline? 

“What makes it for me is if I do a fill, I’ll only do it once. If you listen to [the band's 2022 comeback single] The Foundations of Decay, any fill on there I only do one time. What’s interesting about The Foundations of Decay is that it’s very loose and run-and-gun. We went in and punched things in for timing, which everyone in the world does, but the meat of that is first-or-second take. Which brings me to someone else who was very instrumental to my bass playing: Doug McKean.

“He’s no longer with us, unfortunately, but he was our engineer from The Black Parade [until his passing in 2022]. He was always a huge cheerleader for me – he instilled confidence in me. He was always good at getting a killer performance out of me.”

What are some of the biggest My Chemical Romance bass moments for you?

“I’ll say that fill in on Foundations. No-one saw that coming.”

There’s a YouTube video out there of someone playing their favorite Mikey Way basslines, some while using your signature Squier Mustang, but one standout in particular is The Black Parade’s The Sharpest Lives.

“What’s funny is Sharpest Lives has a bass solo, and I was terrified of it. I had performance anxiety [through] the 12 years before we broke up – I don’t have it anymore. Somehow when the band got back together, a switch in my brain [got] flipped. [But] while My Chem was active, I was borderline terrified a lot of the time.

“I’m playing with people far above my skill level, I’m playing [on bills] with bands where their bass players are way better than me, [and] our shows were getting massive. We were playing arenas! So not only are you learning the bass, but you’re learning the bass in front of 20,000 people every night. It made me tweak a little, but I think it shaped me into what I became.

“That solo gave me anxiety. It was when we were playing the biggest venues of our career, and it would break for the solo [Way starts singing his ascending bass lick]. I practiced it relentlessly, then it [became] second nature. Later on, it [became my favorite part of the show.”

You’re already playing the Jazz signature in your live show, yeah?

“It’s what I use for the live show. Basically, Fender built [it] for the reunion, and then we made a couple tweaks for when we release it.”

Was there a learning curve at all towards transferring My Chemical Romance songs you’d written on a Mustang onto the Jazz?

“There was Planetary (GO!), a song off Danger Days. I’d guess you’d say the whole thing is a disco beat. It’s dance-y – [Mikey starts singing an octave-popping bassline], I do that for the entirety of the song. I was very happy that I only had to do that on a Mustang, initially [because of the shorter scale]. But going back to what I said, [after] I took a little break, [I] went back to a Jazz Bass. 

“I missed the room, or the way my hand went up and down the neck. I wanted to go back to that, so I jumped back in and felt right at home again.”

How many Jazzes are you bringing on the road?

“I bring two basses out, [but] I stopped even switching [during the set]. This is a testament to Fender craftsmanship – that thing stays in tune. It’s got the four-saddle bridge, and it stays in tune so well. I’m a little neurotic so I’ll tune every few songs, but if I went five to six songs you probably wouldn’t even notice.”

What does it mean to you to now have a fully-formed Fender signature model – as opposed to the Squier – and with the body shape you began your career with?

“It’s really a dream come true. It’s funny, in 2002-3 we started touring across the country. I had a Mexican Jazz Bass, but [the band] were like, 'You have to use something with better electronics; better wood. Step it up!' So, I went into the Guitar Center on Route 46 in New Jersey, and at the time Fender had released a special Guitar Center edition that was silver-flake. 

“It always bugged me that the pickguard was white – it threw me off, aesthetically, and I was like, 'I’m going to change that pickguard one day.' So, I got that, and I was using that for a while. 

“We were out with [Boston emo quartet] Piebald – it was one of our first cross-country tours ever – and one night someone forgot to close the trailer door. We’re driving on the highway, and half the contents spilled out – unfortunately, my bass was a casualty of that.

“But Frank Iero, and his heart of gold, jumped out on the highway in the middle of the night and tried to recover [the bass]. He was like, 'Maybe we can fix it!' I’ll never forget him doing that. He got a chunk of it – it’s in one of our storage units.”

For more information on the Limited Edition Mikey Way Jazz Bass, head to Fender.com.

[cherrylng]

Gears & Analysis - Manson 007 aka Blackie [STYLE Series #004 - Muse (August 2010)]

Black Peace [Correct name is Manson 007 aka Blackie] A jet-black bomb-making machine fully armed with a number of unique ideas.

The Manson custom model, known as the ‘Black Peace’, was introduced in 2001 and has been used to this day. The body shape and other basic guitar features are similar to those of the earlier Delorean, but the specifications are quite different. In other words, it is a further updated model based on the ‘DeLorean’. The specs shared with the Delorean at the time of production included front and rear pickups (the rears have now been replaced with bare knuckle ‘Mississippi Queen’ pickups), a piezo pickup system (which has also now been removed), and a built-in effects unit. However, the truth about the effects of pedals are not clear due to mixed accounts. It seems to have a ‘Phase 90’ and a Zvex ‘Fuzz Probe’ (or ‘Wah Probe’)…… In any case, the key point is the copper plate on the right side of the unit. It is a fact that by holding your hand over it, you can freely change the oscillation sound, just like a theremin. Therefore, there is no doubt that one of the ZVex ‘Probe’ series is incorporated. There is also a MIDI controller on the top left of the unit. This was a result of Matthew's question: "Can we mount a “Whammy” on it?" According to Hugh Manson, the original idea was to have a built-in ‘Whammy’ itself, but this was abandoned due to power supply problems, so only a MIDI controller was built in, which would be used to control the ‘Whammy’. The controller itself is a transplant of the ribbon controller originally set on the Roland ‘JP-8000’ keyboard. Incidentally, it can be assigned to any MIDI-compatible device other than the ‘Whammy’.

Pickups & Controllers The sustainer pick-up is located between the P-90 type front pick-up and the fingerboard. The rectangular object located to the left of it is a MIDI controller that works like a touch sensor. The toggle switch next to it is a kill switch. The copper plate located on the left side of the unit is the oscillation controller.

Controls The control system is as complex as that of the ‘Delorean’. There are many switches and knobs. The two knobs and switches at the bottom of the body are probably for the ‘Fuzz Probe’ (a sibling of the ‘Fuzz Factory’). The knob next to the bridge is the controller for the ‘Phase 90’, the mini-switch to the right of it is ON/OFF, the three mini-switches in a row vertically are switches for the sustainer, and the three knobs on the far right are controllers for normal guitar sounds. There is a strong theory that there is a ‘Wah Probe’ built in instead of a ‘Fuzz Probe’, but since Guitar Tech describes it as a ‘theremin’, it is probably not a ‘Fuzz Probe’?

SIM L.E.Ds On the side of the fingerboard, there is an LED that indicates the position. This is a system developed by Sim's Custom, a brand founded by Martin Sims, an engineer originally active in the field of Formula 1 racing cars, and is called Sim's L.E.Ds. Various specifications can be selected, including the colour and shape of the LEDs. The Dodd markers on the top of the fingerboard can also be illuminated, but Matthew seems to have opted for the side-only version.

Translator's Notes: I don't know why this typo error was never corrected by the STYLE editors. I thought I knew the guitar looked familiar to me, yet I've never heard it being called the Black Peace at all. To fans and Matt alike, the Manson 007 had always been 'Blackie'.

[enny43]

Let's talk about Colorado's 3rd congressional district.

Lauren Boebert and Adam Frisch are locked in a ridiculously close election in a race a lot of people are watching very closely. Seeing Boebert unseated would be a huge win and may turn out to be crucially important in a midterm the Dems (shockingly) still have a chance to take the House in. It has been razer thin for several days, and over a long lapse in reporting, Fisch lead by less than 70 votes with ~90% of the vote in.

As of right now, Boebert holds a lead of 1,136 votes with about 98% of the votes counted. It might take until next Thursday for the remaining votes to be counted and a winner declared, as there are an estimated 5,898 votes still to be counted. This does not include overseas and military votes or ballots that need to be cured, but we'll get to that.

First lets address a question many people have:

Why is this taking so long?

The short answer is, it's not. The main reason it seems to be taking longer than most races is directly related to how close the race actually is. See when news media "call" races, they are actually just projecting the winner based on the possibilities in remaining math. If it becomes reasonably impossible for a certain candidate to win, they call the race. The projected loser may even concede at this time. But that is not an official result, nor does the counting stop at that point. Just like in CO-3, counting continues following the guidelines set by the state to tabulate an official result. This race only hasn't been called yet because with the remaining votes, either candidate can still win. Colorado also has a gold-standard level election system.. so we can expect counting to take a little longer due to such a high percentage of ballots there being mail-in (Colorado sends ballots to all voters by default)

As far as the timeline goes, this is not abnormal.

So what are Adam Frisch's odds of winning and how can we calculate them? This is a more complicated answer, but I'll do my best to keep it simple.

As I said, there are an estimated 5,898 votes remaining to be counted. The bulk of them (2,365) come from Pueblo County which favors Frisch by 3.3%, and another large share (700 votes) comes from Pitkin County which favors Frisch by 29.2%

If all math followed those numbers, this would be a pickup of 565 votes for Adam Frisch. Boebert also has an advantage in Mesa County of 7.8% where there are 726 estimated votes remaining. This would give her a pickup of ~112 votes. In the remaining counties where there are less than 300 votes remaining to be counted, we can estimate that the votes would mostly cancel out, with a slight edge for Frisch.

All the math with these smaller counties included points to Frisch coming up short by about 770 votes (this would still fall in the range of an automatic recount).. but this does not account for all the outstanding ballots.

There are still an indeterminate number of absentee ballots from overseas and military votes to count, in addition to provisional ballots that may have been cast on Election Day (Colorado has same-day voter registration, so these are uncommon).. and there is also a curing period for ballots that may have had a mistake and need to be verified (such as someone forgetting to sign the envelope when mailing their ballot in)

We can expect the military and overseas ballots to favor Frisch. Not only does the military slightly lean Dem as it is, Southern Colorado is home to a lot of active duty Air Force which has an even more liberal tilt than the military broadly. As for the cured ballots, it's hard to say.. but my intuition tells me Democratic voters would be more energized and likely to fix their ballots by the deadline (there's also a lot of outreach being done to help people through this process, something I imagine the Boebert camp will be less capable of doing)

Are there any guarantees the remaining votes will follow the trend exactly? Of course not. They may favor one candidate or the other to a greater degree than the averages represent. Without knowing how many outstanding ballots there are from the military, overseas, and cured counts.. it is fundamentally impossible to know how this race will turn out. What I can say is not to expect many updates between now and next week. This one is going to come down to the wire, and whatever candidate ends up winning will do so by a very tight margin. No matter the result, I expect a recount will be triggered leading us to even more waiting to find out the official results.

My suggestion to everyone is to be patient and let this process play out. I have no reason to be worried about the results of this race, which is already much closer than anyone expected it would be going into Election Day. After all, CO-3 is an R+6 district. The race being this close is something no one expected.

Here's a chart with all of the data I discussed:

[fastestfanalive]

Birthday Haul 2023 and other pickups!

My real haul hasn’t shipped yet, but these figures arrived over the last couple of weeks.

My wife picked up Emperor Aquaman from Target for a ridiculously low price (3 dollars!) and started a chain reaction that led to me preordering Project Superman and then tracking down Flashpoint Batman and Grifter. Grifter came in a jacked up box but for 12 bucks, I can’t complain too much. Since Flashpoint was the first and only Flash-centric companywide crossover, it’s easy to justify picking these up.

Since my McFarlane Flash wave order has yet to ship, I took advantage of a deal Target had a couple of weeks back and order the three Flash figures from the wave. And since I’m all about complete collections, I had to pick up the Gold Label Unmasked Batman from the Flash movie wave and a red and blue Superman for Flash to race with. I seriously can’t wait until my Flash wave ships, mainly because I want to see that Batmobile and Batwing in all their glory.

I don’t think Jay Garrick and Impulse need any explanation. But Impulse actually was free. I ended up having my card declined for my Target order for no apparent reason and the app offered no way to replace the card. So I was pretty shocked when I got a shipping notification. Even more shocked when I got a delivered notification.

Kyle Rayner seems like a random figure, but he is Wally West’s contemporary in the Grant Morrison Justice League and also is my favorite Lantern. Thrilled to have this guy finally, despite not being a huge fan of the color green they chose.

It’s been an excellent birthday and an excellent year so far. I can’t wait to see what other goodies Todd has up his sleeve. Let’s hope one of them is a Jeremy Adams Wally West with a Gold Label 90s variant.

Thanks for reading,

Flash Johnson

[gtasanandreasapkdownload]

GTA San Andreas Apk Download

Awesome Robbery Auto: San Andreas Apps on Search engines Perform

Inside the early '90s simply appeared like a great obvious room for all of us to search. Then my help save end up being all smudged, couple of hour or so regarding the gameplay have got went away. The really dissatisfying of which there’s no chance for you to take back them after i reinstall the sport…

The game gotten essential acclaim for its characters, narrative, available earth conceive, with visible faithfulness, nevertheless united responses towards the vision design and style, specialized copies, along with picture connected with race. The item made controversy in the event the finding in the "Strong Chocolate" minigame uncovered a screened sexual place. Many video game publications awarded the overall game year-end accolades, in fact it is taken into account one of several 6th cohort connected with gaming console gaming's the majority of big entitlements as well as among the ideal video activities actually gotten. San Andreas turned out to be the best-selling online video media diversion associated with 2004 as well as the best-selling PlayStation 2 entertainment, with over 27.5 million contents offered. Its heir, Lavish Fraud Auto IV, was launched within May 2008. It's a tiny glitchy nonetheless it works up to scratch i will get throughout the tough.

I find myself like this showing up mission particularly should be earned less concerning. Last thing I'd include can be an decision to keep photographies anyone need using the video camera in-game for you to your own call so that you can discuss insane pack in which people notice. The initial single lives about the theft quest, sometimes whenever you acquire near to anything CJ gets stuck about something after that a person can’t change which often wakes in the man or woman inside of and then you will get a 3 legend wanted level.

Expecting a complex, CJ tears to be able to Sweet's support inside a series against the Ballas. We adore L.A., with the entire gangbanging feel, as well as the road way of life. Can be so crucial plus we recognized quite a long time before which the operation needed to wind up presently there. We'd fixed the Distance Coastline with GTA3, after which '80s Miami with Vice Area, consequently going to L.A.

The nostalgia hits tough, and it’s awesome to help act over a extensive monitor phone. Bear in mind in which I’m playing with a Corona+ controller, GTA San Andreas apk download so if you plot at making use of contact manages your current judgment may range. Nonetheless, in terms of gamepad managements proceed, they stay fantastic.

Latest statement GTA San Andreas Apk - get pleasure from make fresh features

Fine duty towards dev team for the contest, that seriously owns much more sympathy put into the item as opposed to original conclusive book. Past their release, Rewarding along with CJ repeat the GSF, take away the rival companies through their area and also rebuilding throughout Los Santos. Tenpenny ends up being arrested with aimed for a lot of prisons, even so the care end up being stopped on account of not enough experiences, effect a city-wide riot. The a couple do a fight; CJ collects, with just before pass away, Fumes confesses he / she move caught up using the right in addition to funds. Tenpenny gets there, carry CJ on gunpoint while he or she takes Smoke's drug money, with sources the surge in the size to escape. He urges off in the hearths pickup truck, then CJ in addition to Musical, however gradually loses run with the automobile, crashing above the area of an bridge forgetting about Grove Street.

Inside the outcome, CJ's kin with pals commemorate their good results in the Johnson property. In the midst of the celebrations, CJ gets away from to check on around the neighbourhood. Throughout 1992, when a few yr within Liberty City, gangster Carl "CJ" Johnson (Small Maylay) incomes to Los Santos track his or her mother's fall in a very drive-by capture. He's captured in corrupt C.R.A.S.H. policemen conducted by simply Free Tenpenny (Samuel L. Jackson), whom endanger to be able to implicate CJ within the wipe out of your fellow police officer unless he co-operates with them. CJ along with Cesar experience Smoking along with Ryder ending up in Tenpenny as well as the rival Ballas company, and also notice they revealed the GSF also live in charge of wiping out CJ's mother.

One more ends up being how the wrecking ball doesn't live it can be a floating steel basketball. Anytime I make an effort to locate a vehicle inside a garage this tells a person can easily retailer anymore automobiles within this storage though my personal garage ends up being completely empty of course, if I attempt to boost the vehicle within it will certainly eliminate the idea.

An additional problem We've suffered is any time I kick the bucket during a team combat it provides each area in my experience or the item clearly removes it that I’m fairly really just isn't supposed to take place. And you should place an alternative to disable tilt charges mainly because We've in order to hold our iPad correctly smooth because if I don’t the automobile may tear towards the various other course as well as annoying.

I long they counted gps much like the certain model and possibly a bill within the silence food selection with regard to entering gain a advantage. Ive showed that pertaining to properly spanning a few years it absolutely was simple for me personally to help chart the managements in a manner that I could compete in this feel monitor model. Let me say I was fixed about the objective when you have to help boogie while using the DJ. Idk the way the resulting approach doth the job upon of which but I merely smudged once on the party branch along with didnt have enough levels. Sounds a bit also concerning I'm able to only dream the assignment when you have to regulate the RADIO CONTROLLED plane 🤦🏽. It would be mainly because im still quite a bit less utilized to utilizing touch monitor as opposed to a controller although im positive identical may be state for a lot of.

[weshipyourride]

2023 UnPAved Recap

On a particular October weekend, since 2018, the small, historic Central Pennsylvania college town of Lewisburg hosts more than 1,000 cyclists who embark on a challenge that is “easy on the eyes, hard on the legs.” UnPAVed of the Susquehanna River Valley is a gravel event that spans an entire weekend and is continuously expanding course offerings to include cyclists of many levels and motivations.

Our Bikeflights representatives at this year’s event exemplified unPAved’s ability to cater to cyclists with varying motivations, with pro Kerry Werner vying for the Champion of the Whoopie Pies by taking the top time in the Full 120, and Vince Camiolo looking to have a shorter, more leisurely ride, choosing to do the Proper 50. Those are just two of the five official course options, one of which is a full service overnight option. All options, as they wind through the hilly forest roads of Bald Eagle State Forest in peak fall foliage season, do indeed live up to the event’s tagline “easy on the eyes, hard on the legs.”

The weekend-long festivities began Friday evening with family-friendly events, and ran through Monday. Saturday featured the swag bag pickup for registered cyclists amidst a bike expo, including Bikeflights, which was directly adjacent to the annual Lewisburg Fall Festival. Some rain dampened the first half of the day, but the sun eventually emerged and the craft vendor-lined streets of the town were filled with festival-goers and the aroma of kettle corn. Throughout the day a variety of “FUNpaved” guided rides departed the bike expo, and that evening the historic theater hosted a gravel film festival.

On Sunday came the main event, with about 1,000 cyclists choosing between 30, 50, 90, 120 and 200-mile options, in addition to the “SlumberPArty” category which spread the 120-mile course over two days beginning on Saturday.

The 120, 90 and 50-mile courses all contained varying numbers of timed segments. Those serious about racing and endeavoring to be crowned Whoopie Pie royalty, like Kerry, took on the 120-mile course with four timed segments while climbing more than 10,000 feet.

While it was clear that Kerry sought redemption from his 2022 narrow second place finish behind Adam Roberge, results were far from his only motivation to race unPAved in 2023.

“I love the vibe. It’s not the racing that brings me back but the amazing course, fall foliage and aid station stops. It’s just nice to go for a really big ride and have everything catered to you. I don’t have to stuff my pockets with food or worry about running out of water. I can just enjoy the route,” Kerry said.

The unique structure of the event, featuring timed segments and route overlap with the 50, 90 and 120-mile courses, allows for significant flexibility in start times and even last minute decisions on which course to attempt. Riders can start anytime between 6:30 and 9 a.m. and choose more than 20 miles into the ride which course they will take on.

Despite Kerry and Vince having completely disparate aspirations for the day, they were able to roll out at 9 a.m. and ride together down the rail trail, through bucolic countryside and toward the forest roads of Bald Eagle State Forest. With the first timed segment almost 15 miles in they leisurely pedaled side-by-side, commiserating about their lack of preparation for the 55-degree (Fahrenheit) overcast and breezy conditions, engaged in casual conversation (geopolitics, Federal Reserve, merits of existentialism, etc.) and cravings for one of unPAved’s most renowned features: the aid stations.

An unPAved aid station appears like an oasis, deep in the woods, wafting the odor of hot grills and kettles, featuring items like hot dogs, baked potatoes, hot apple cider, coffee and the most coveted item of all, pierogies, in addition to all the other typical aid station items.

About an hour into the ride, it was time to bid farewell to each other as they encountered the first segment of the day: A 3.3-mile, 1,200 foot climb snaking up Jones Mountain, which Kerry raced up, and Vince … well, did not race up.

With expansive vistas and sprawling aid stations strategically placed outside of the timed segments, riders, regardless of their competitive aspirations, are able to stop and enjoy the visual and culinary perks of riding unPAved.

As far as Kerry’s competitive aspirations, he again found himself just behind repeat Whoopie Pie King Adam Roberge in total time, but he’s choosing another rule of measure for this race, which was perhaps his primary goal.

“To get a pierogi! I missed out on the pierogies last year but I managed to snag the very last one this year. Adam got none. So I feel like I actually won the race.”

[starsvewor]

Claves para driver parallel lines pc

#CLAVES PARA DRIVER PARALLEL LINES PC DRIVER#

Arrive too early, and the cops'll nab you arrive too late.well, then you'll have to deal with the mob. Your goal in each is to make your appointed pickup successfully. Your assignment spans 44 missions through New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco.

#CLAVES PARA DRIVER PARALLEL LINES PC DRIVER#

Set in the '70s, Driver puts you in the role of an undercover cop, Tanner, who is posing as a driver-for-hire in order to bust up a crime ring. Driver is the latest V8 monster to rev up on the PlayStation, bringing Hollywood-style car chases to life. If you think GranTurismo's action is too sim-oriented or Need for Speed's is too high class, then GT Interactive has a gutsy bad-ass thrill ride for you. Carmageddoits cartoon frolics come nowhere near the hard-hitting realism of this work of genius. There's boundless fun to be had, whether you play it seriously, or just for a laugh. "Driver s the perfect game -it's simply superb. "Have your reviewers lost their bloody minds? Excuse me, but I cannot remember the last time I had as much fun on a PC.It should have received at least 90-95%." "I really don't understand why you only gave it a 'recommended' status. Also, the additional sub-games, such as Pursuit, Trail Blazer and Checkpoint Race, ensure you just can't put it down." I presume the main reason for this was the lack of multiplayer support True, this is a shame - but the absolutely brilliant single-player game more than makes up for it. "I played Driver on the PlayStation and absolutely loved it I normally agree with the ratings you give your games, but can't believe you stuck a mere 83% tag on what is easily the most realistic driving simulation ever.

[chemvewor]

Ty segall band tabs

#TY SEGALL BAND TABS SERIAL#

#TY SEGALL BAND TABS FULL#

I’ve played a lot of Quad Reverbs and the silverface Fenders are all over the place. What amps did you use on the record? Segall: My main squeeze is a ’72 Fender Quad Reverb. My main guitar now is a Les Paul with P-90s. I actually don’t have that guitar anymore. Instead of the original P-90 pickups, it had Seymour Duncan Antiquities in it. Emmett Kelly: The guitar I played on the record was a modified ’59 Les Paul Special. There’s no whammy bar or anything on the Les Paul, so I’ve had to step up my actual playing instead of relying on sound effects. Have you found that your style has changed at all since you got the Les Paul? Segall: With the Mustang, I was super-reliant on the tremolo bridge. It’s like a grown-up’s version of an electric guitar.įor his new album, Segall enlisted the skills of veteran indie-rock producer Steve Albini, who got beefy guitar tones and kept the tracking lean. The sustain is insane compared to the Mustang. The Mustang-it’s bright and twangy, whereas the Les Paul is full-bodied, resonant. What’s it like going from the Mustang to the Les Paul in terms of sounds? Segall: It’s like a similar thing with how it feels. It feels like a toy compared to the Les Paul. I wouldn’t say I’m technical or anything, so it’s funny, now going back to the Mustang-realizing it’s a three-quarter scale. I don’t know much about guitars really, and I’m not like a studied guitar player. Before that, I played a Mustang kind of exclusively. It’s totally beat to shit, but I love that thing.

#TY SEGALL BAND TABS SERIAL#

I play a ’69 Les Paul, but I got it looked at, and supposedly it’s a late ’50s one that just has a ’60s serial number. I chatted to Segall and Kelly about the period-correct gear they used in creating those sounds, how Albini captured them perfectly in the studio, and how their home state of California plays into all of this. Joined by guitarist Emmett Kelly, multi-instrumentalist Mikal Cronin, drummer Charles Moothart, and keyboardist Ben Boye, Segall continues to explore pre-1980s sounds on the recording while stretching out with extended jamming and clearly relishing the energy of leading a live band.

#TY SEGALL BAND TABS FULL#

Segall recorded with a full band for the first time on his latest album, which is also called Ty Segall. “I’ve played with people where you’re both racing each other to the finish line or some shit like that, and that’s totally wack.” -Ty Segall He approaches the guitar in an appropriately non-schooled way, getting maximum mileage from a select palette of harmonic and melodic sources, all with great frenzy and groove. Since releasing his self-titled debut in 2008, Segall has played most of the instruments on his albums. But over the past decade, working solo and with various bands in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, he’s already created an impressive body of work that neatly synthesizes the sounds of his wide-ranging 1960s and ’70s influences: surf and garage rock, and early metal, among others. Segall, a native of Laguna Beach, California, isn’t yet 30. Segall’s label, Drag City, posted a video of the act (the YouTube search term is “A Flush Down the Tylet”) to its website without any explanation, but this weirdness was hardly surprising coming from a musician known to perform onstage in an elaborate satanic baby costume. Albini pushed the porcelain bowl, emblazoned with Segall’s name, off a loading dock, causing it to shatter into many pieces, and Segall finished off the job with an axe. Last November, singer-songwriter and guitarist Ty Segall smashed a toilet with the help of the legendary producer and engineer Steve Albini.

[productreviewings]

How powerful is the engine in the 1992 Chevrolet S10 truck?

How powerful is the engine in the 1992 Chevrolet S10 truck?

These cars come in a 4.3 litre V6 engine and have some tremendous amount of power in them. This is a muscle car in disguise as a 90s car. The car has a decent 160hp but then again these cars weren’t made for high performance racing and are well used for hauling heavy things. 1992 Chevrolet ‘chevy’ S10 pickup truck Priced around $9,000 Please follow these links and look for discount codes on…

[motorbuzz]

NEW Bowler Extreme Defender makes public debut at Caffeine & Machine “Honour the Uplifted” evening

- New Extreme specification Defender conversion to be offered by Belper-based off-road performance experts Bowler - New model from the original creators of this style of Defender - Conversions available on 90, 110 or 130 platforms using either customer-owned or Bowler-sourced donor - Limited build-slots available each year

Bowler, the UK’s foremost performance Land Rover Defender experts, will showcase the new Bowler Extreme conversion at Caffeine and Machine this evening, Wednesday 29th June.

The conversion showcases the knowledge and expertise Bowler has gained from decades of off-road competition and joins the existing Bowler Fast Road Defender conversion. Most noticeable is the Bowler Extreme’s stance, a combination of massive 35-inch BFGoodrich tyres with bead-lock performance alloys and bespoke front and rear suspension providing a 2 inch lift all round. The tyres are housed by Bowler’s new extended wheel arch kit. The front bumper is replaced with a lightweight Bowler bumper and finished with Bowler recovery points. An LED high-performance light package finished the front end makeover. An additional Lazer lights spotlight package can be added at the customer’s request. External protection is added in the form of an external rollcage and rockslider steps. The classic Bowler sill protectors give the signature finish. The exterior is finished with upgraded hinges, LED rear lights and a Bowler rear step kit. The passenger cabin receives the same attention to detail and features a bespoke leather/performance fabric material makeover. Both external paint and internal leather can be specified by the customer. Upgraded audio equipment, Bowler gear levers and a Momo steering wheel finish the interior. The Bowler Extreme also features the company’s signature Fast Road conversion, providing an increase in both torque and horsepower (175hp/450Nm) to match the aggressive stance of the car. The system uses a modified ECU and race intercooler. Braking is also improved with the addition of a Bowler big brake kit, utilising 4 piston calipers developed in partnership with Alcon and larger discs (334mm front, 297mm rear). The standard ABS and Traction Control systems are unaffected. The Bowler Extreme is available on a commission-only basis, with limited build slots available each calendar year. The Bowler demonstration car is based on a 110 dual cab pickup, with conversions available on 90, 110 and 130 donors. The car will be built alongside Bowler’s legendary Bulldog at the company’s Belper workshop. Bowler are able to source a donor vehicle or utilise a car already owned by the commissioning customer. Price for conversion of a customer-owned car will be dependent on model year and condition. VEHICLE SPECIFICATION AT A GLANCE - Stage 2 Engine Package (including remap, intercooler and centre box delete piece) - Fast Road Suspension Kit - Bowler Big Brake package - Deep offset 16” steel wheels with 35” tyres - Bowler Bulldog wheel arch kit - Bowler Lightweight 110 Side Rails, Bowler Lightweight Road Bumper - BowlerLightweight Steering Guard, Bowler Lightweight Rear Step - Bowler bonnet vents - Leather MOMO Steering Wheel, Recaro Seats, Bowler black gearshifters - Bespoke interior retrim with body colour contrast leather trim and alcantara headlining - Double din infotainment unit with sat nav and DAB - Soundproofing and carpets throughout - X4 roof mounted sentinel Lazer lamps, x2 rear mounted utility lights - Stainless steel bolt kit - Full safety devices roll cage with additional roof rack system - Uprated LED lighting all around - Bowler signature headlight surrounds with additional DRLs - Billet Aluminium accessories, hinges, handles and vents For more information please contact Bowler at info@bowlermotors.com Find out more about Bowler Motors at bowlermotors.com About Bowler Bowler, found in 1985, is based in Belper, Derbyshire and pioneered the production of dedicated off-road competition cars in the UK.   It has achieved international success in rally raid events, having previously participated in the Dakar Rally, British Hill Climb Championship and French Baja with their Tomcat, Wildcat & Nemisis models, all of which were based on the heritage Defender 90 and 110. Bowler provides its customers with competition racing events, to provide them with the driving skills and technical competition knowledge necessary to undertake international rally raid events. Bowler has become synonymous with conversions and modifications of Defender models, designed to enhance power, handling, braking and comfort. These can be tailored to suit individual requirements and desires, including bespoke engineering requirements. Since its inception Bowler has had a close affiliation with Land Rover, which was formalised with a brand partnership in 2012 that led to the creation of the popular Defender Challenge by Bowler rally series in 2014 - 2016. The business was acquired by Jaguar Land Rover Group in December 2019 and forms part of Special Vehicle Operations. Bowler’s motorsport heritage 1985 Drew Bowler begins making and selling competitive safari and trials cars from his home in Derbyshire 1991 Drew Bowler wins ARC National Comp Safari 2000 Bowler first competes in world-famous Dakar Rally in Africa, and races in central Europe 2004 Bowler vehicle wins British Hill Rally Championship 2005 Bowler's largest ever Dakar entry means it’s the second largest factory team, and has highest finisher rate 2006 Bowler vehicles win both the British Baja National Championship and the French Baja 2012 Bowler agrees formal brand partnership with Land Rover across sponsorship, marketing and engineering 2014 Defender Challenge launched to prepare competitors for Dakar. Bowler moves into new production facility 2016 CSP development begins. Company founder Drew Bowler sadly passes away in November 2018 Bowler vehicles claim first, second and fourth overall on Tuareg Rallye 2019 Jaguar Land Rover acquires Bowler 2020 Bowler granted licence by Jaguar Land Rover to produce road-biased Defender Station wagon – codenamed CSP 575 Bowler is granted use of the Defender name under licence from Jaguar Land Rover. Read the full article

[radracer]

95′ Chevy S10 Pickup

[seat-safety-switch]

The tiny island nation of Japan has produced effectively all of the world's personal luxury coupes. With the minor exception of the Ford Thunderbird, if you want a long-wheelbase two-door with enough style to choke a dog, then you should set your time machine for mid-80s-to-very-early-90s Japan.

Of course, there's lots of options for buying those cars used these days. If you're willing to spend, that is. The sudden realization that no good cars are being developed nowadays has spurred a revitalization of interest in these nineties dream chariots, and as such they are trading at prices that would make a real estate speculator sitting in the front row at Barrett-Jackson spit out the IV bag full of millennial blood he's been sipping on throughout the auction proceedings. You can buy like five off-lease Mercedes S-classes for the same price as a Mitsubishi 3000GT that needs a new engine.

Nor can you really bodykit a modern coupe. That's because none of them exist. No automaker wants to make a two-door anymore, because somehow the car industry has convinced itself that everyone wants to take their entire family with them when they go out cruising the boulevards looking for teenage runaways. Wait, I mean street races. You can't even buy a two-door pickup truck anymore, for mostly the same reasons.

I haven't given up faith, though. I know that if I just believe in the glorious era of cocaine, intergenerational mortgages, Sony Walkmans and active aerodynamics on street-driven cars, then the fates will intervene to provide me with a triple-rotor Eunos Cosmo. And if it doesn't happen, at least the period-correct clothes are still fairly cheap at the thrift store for the time being.

[alarawriting]

52 Project #32: Five Minutes

Five minutes from now a man shot me in the head.

It all happened so fast. He rang the doorbell, so I looked through the peephole and saw what looked like a UPS guy at the door. I wasn’t expecting a package, but I wasn’t expecting a guy with a gun, either. I unlocked the three locks, opened the door and there he was, gun pointing right at me. Before I had time to do anything, he fired. 

I don't know why he did it. He could just be a racist asshole who’s trying to start a race war or something by randomly murdering a black teenager, but I don’t think so – there’s a lot of girls every bit as brown as me walking around outside on a nice summer day like today. I think it’s more likely because my mother's a researcher into Proximas and my uncle is a known Proxima who works with the Peace Force; he might have been here after them, or he might have shot me to get at them. 

It doesn't matter. It's five minutes ago and I haven't been shot yet.  Instead I run for the telephone in the kitchen and dial 911.

I hear the doorbell ring. It doesn't matter. 

“911, what’s the nature of your emergency?”

“Uh, there’s a guy outside. With a gun. Outside my family’s apartment. I’m thirteen and my family isn’t here and this guy is trying to kill me.”

“What’s your address?”

I tell them, quickly. I add, “He’s an adult, a white guy with brown hair, medium height. Looks like 30-ish maybe. He’s dressed like a UPS delivery man.” I want to make sure they know it’s a white guy so my uncle doesn’t get beaten or shot if he comes home before the police get here. Rodney King was only three years ago.

“I’m dispatching officers to your location now. Stay on the phone with me.”

“Okay, how long until they arrive?”

“They’ll be there within ten minutes.”

That doesn’t mean much to me. Ten minutes can hold an infinite number of five-minuteses. “My name’s Alannah Foster,” I tell them. “My mom and my uncle are both doctors. Cynthia Foster and Daniel Foster.” I’m thinking that if I can’t hold this guy off long enough, the police need to know who to tell about what happened.

The gunman shoots the lock off the door and kicks the door open.  I can see him from where I'm standing with the telephone. I could drop to the floor to get out of the line of fire; I’m standing in front of a counter. But to get out safely, I’d have to be able to crawl to the door that goes out to the hallway, and I’d have to do it so fast that he can’t shoot me when I’m not behind the counter anymore, and I’d have to do it before he can get here.

That’s not gonna happen. I don’t go to a superhero academy like my uncle did when he was my age, and I know I’m no action hero from a movie. There isn’t any way forward where I’m getting out of this kitchen before he shoots me.

He aims the gun at me. So I jump back five minutes ago.  I don't have as much runway to work with this time.  I jump into the middle of the conversation with Emergency Services, and pick up with barely a stumble-- I'm used to this.  “--adult,” I say. “White guy, brown hair, medium height, UPS uniform.” He's been ringing the doorbell for half a minutes.  In five minutes he'll get the door open and he'll come after me.

My uncle Dan’s a healer. He could maybe save my life if this guy shoots me in the chest – but not in the face or the head.  My mom's just a scientist.  She doesn’t have any powers. And they're both out for the day, Mom at a conference, Dan with his teammates.  There's just me, 13-year-old Alannah, and there's no one I can call that could get here faster than 911 could.

I drop the phone before the 911 dispatcher finishes telling me she’s dispatching officers, and run for the fire escape.  The window’s old wood, painted many times, and it jams as I try to lift it.  I hear him shoot off the lock.

I jump back five minutes ago.  This time as I get off the phone with 911, I don't waste time trying to force the window open.  Instead I pick up one of the heavy iron bookends holding my collection of computer books on my desk, and use it to smash the window.  I'm small enough that I can squeeze through without getting cut up too badly.

There’s a fire escape outside our apartment building. I start down it carefully, not wanting to move too fast and fall.  But I hear him shoot the lock, I hear him head for my bedroom, and as I see him up above me pulling the window open and coming out onto the fire escape with his gun, I jump five minutes ago, to the point where I was smashing the window. This time I run down the fire escape as fast as I can go, trusting that if I fall, I'll just jump five minutes ago and be more careful.

There’s an alley below me, and it doesn’t smell great – garbage pickup won’t be until day after tomorrow. I jump off from near the bottom, and race around the corner, out of the alley and onto the street.  He's probably following me.  No reason to think he's not.  Quickly I crawl under one of the cars parked on our street.  With luck, he won't see me.

I can see his feet.  I can see him looking for me.  It takes longer than five minutes, which makes me nervous.  And then he sees me.  I scream as he kneels down.  "There you are, you little bitch," he says, aiming the gun.

Five minutes ago I'm still under the car and he's out there, looking for me.  I roll out from under the car and start to run.

Behind me he fires. The bullet slams into my back, and then I'm half a minute ago-- I can't jump my full five minutes until I've returned to my origin time.  Half a minute is long enough to throw myself to my stomach as the bullet whizzes over my head, to roll behind a parked car, trembling.  He starts to come around the car.  I circle, keeping the car between him and me.

He's faster than me, and he runs at me, the gun out.  At that range he can't miss.  The bullet is a searing pain in my chest, and then it's five seconds ago, and I'm dodging, now that he's already committed to the shot.  It hits my arm.  Not good enough.  I jump again, ten seconds.  This time I dodge too soon, and he’s able to adjust his aim. It hits me in the chest again. Seven seconds.  Just long enough that I can get all the way out of the way, just short enough that he can't change where he's aiming. 

I drag myself under a car again.  I wait until he ducks down to shoot me, and jump ten seconds, giving me time to position myself just where his head will be.  As his head lowers again, I kick it with all the strength in my body.

He staggers backward, and I pull myself out from under the car, rolling to my feet and running down the street.  We live in a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, one that’s just expensive enough that everyone here works, so there’s no one on the street in the middle of the day. With gunshots going off, I don’t expect that to last. But I’m not expecting anyone to come save me, either.

By the time he recovers, I've got a nice comfortable margin, a minute or two.  When he shoots me again, I use my margin to jump back, to know when he's going to shoot and duck it again.

"Goddamn, you fucking proxy bitch!  Fucking stay still!"  he screams, proving my theory that this is about me being a Proxima, and shoots at me again.  He's got good aim; he hits again.  I'm so tired of jumping, so tired of the pain of bullets hitting and the fear that I won't be able to evade the next time.  I want so badly to stop... but I don’t want to die. So I jump again, and dodge again, and this time I make it to the cover of a tree before he can shoot me again.

I'm so out of breath. My knees and elbows are all scraped up from hitting the ground repeatedly.  And I'm drained from so many time jumps.  I've never done so many in a row.  There's no way I can keep this up.  The tree isn't big enough to shield me if I run now, not big enough to shield when he reaches me.  I'm boxed in.

And then the cops pull up.

He runs.  They tell him to halt and drop his weapon; when he keeps running, they shoot him.  The bullets tear into him, leaving him on the ground covered with blood, and he doesn't jump five minutes ago.  He stays dead.

***

They call me the hero kid, the resourceful little girl who stayed ahead of a hardened killer for fifteen minutes, long enough for the police to come.  They tell me it wasn't about me at all; he was a small-time hit man, probably hired by someone to take out me out to scare my mother off her pro-Proxima activism.  They don’t mention my uncle at all, so I guess secret identities are good for something after all.

My mom comes from her conference, and hugs me, and my uncle comes from where he's hanging out with his teammates, and he tells me how great I was, and how much control I've got over my powers (he says that part privately where no one can hear.)  I appear in the newspaper in the local news section.  Fifteen minutes of fame, much better than five minutes of fear.

But I want to take self-defense classes, and I want to enter the Peace Force’s superhero academy like my uncle did, and learn what superheroes know about using their powers to survive.  Because someday five minutes might not be long enough to get away.

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

Takes place in the same universe as “The Cold At The Heart Of The Light”, focusing on some of the minor characters.

This was originally published under “The Common People” fanfic project for Marvel mutants, back in the 90′s, but has been revised since (beyond revision to remove the fanfic elements).

[8bitbobby]

My Journey with Arcade1up - Part I: Pac-man

I could never spin a yarn quite like Sophia Petrillo but I suppose I should start at the beginning. In about the fall of 2018, a new company announced a product coming to the home market that would take the gaming world by storm:  Arcade1up.  Their 3/4 scale cabinets would allow the average Joe an experience that hints at the nostalgia that many of us were aching to return to (if even for a short time).  Much like a trip to Ikea, these cabinets are sold flat-packed for the consumer to build at home. Fully assembled, the product stands roughly 4ft. tall (without a riser) and weighs between 50-70lbs.  This smaller footprint allows for easy movement around a game room and is aided by the original CRT monitors of the day being replaced by 17″ flat screens as well as the 3/4inch plywood shells giving way to lighter composite wood materials.  For a retail of roughly $300-500 (at the time) you could get a standup machine with a PCB (printed circuit board) containing anywhere from 2-4 games from the same publisher. Finishing the look was side art, marquee and a bezel resembling the original graphics of the game, as well as clone joysticks and buttons to give you the feel of the original arcade.  

No matter how good a company or product is, however, if you cut costs to bring an expensive hobby to the masses at a lower price point there will be issues and these Arcade1ups are no exception.  The first ‘generation’ of these cabinets, of which the Walmart Exclusive Pac-man was a part, suffered from no light-up marquee, riser or deck protector.   It didn’t take long until players complained that their control panel artwork had been reduced to a worn out smear of what it once was due to hours of gameplay.   To remedy this, the company sent out free replacement artwork and a plexiglass cover to go over the controls to protect the printed graphic surface to anyone who requested it.  This addition was one of the first instances where the company listened to it’s consumer/fan base and made corrections and improvements based on feedback. Since their humble beginnings, the company has run the gamut of early 70s quarter munchers, to the great fighting games of the 80s and 90s, all the way to the introduction of shooter and driving cabinets. 

*******************************************************************************************

Okay sorry for that detour let’s get back on the road.  In May of 2019, after several  months of watching and reading reviews I decided it was time to jump into this pastime and ordered my first Arcade1up 3/4 scale cabinet off of Walmart’s website.  Since it was the inaugural piece I thought what better one to start off with than one of the most iconic games of all time, Pac-man.  Before I pulled the trigger on this purchase I decided to visit my local store and lo and behold they had a few units for sale.  I showed them the advert on their website asking if they were willing to price match because the website was $40 or $50 cheaper than the store.  I figured it was a win/win because I got a little break on the price and they got to sell an item off the floor to make room for something else.  Unfortunately they wouldn’t match the online price and so (being the cheap bugger I am) I decided to just wait out the week or so for delivery. 

Seven long days later I got an email that my cabinet was ready for pickup and so off to my local Wally World I raced.  Pickup was an even stranger experience then than it is nowadays with all the craziness going on in the world.  Nowadays they have a specific area to pickup items ordered online but back then larger items were picked up in the photo center.  The process was hampered by the fact that the photo lab had different hours than the rest of the store and so when I came to pick it up after work it was all locked up.  After about 10 minutes of waiting and wondering if I would have to go home empty-handed and come back during open hours, a night manager appeared with keys and opened up the photo section.  I did my best to describe the box but the words echoed strangely in my ears. “It will be a big, bright yellow box with a Pac-man arcade on it”.   After a few more moments the employee managed to find my box amongst the countless appliance and other electronic boxes and dragged it out to me.  I don’t really recall the ride home but if memory serves I snapped a shot of the box leaning against our sliding glass door in the kitchen/dining room at about 10:30 at night.  Unfortunately I wouldn’t get around to assembling my 1up until after work the following day.  

Once built, it became clear quite quickly that this first generation cabinet would need a matching stool, a riser and a light-up marquee to complete the investment.  These items as well as a deck protector would come in the months following.  

Sat upon a makeshift riser, Pac-man is still dwarfed by my homebuilt M.A.M.E. cabinet but despite its shorter stature, this iconic yellow side panel pops and immediately calls back to the smoky arcades of my youth. A fitting beginning to my latest game-related addiction.  It is said that all roads lead home and even though I am on a different road right now I am sure I will come back to the NES collection at some point.  

Final thoughts on this cabinet:  Despite it being early in the lifecycle of this company and void of all of the bells and whistles we’ve become accustomed to in more recent Arcade1up offerings it is the original. Many variations have been released since but I will always appreciate this first foray into the home market and will probably never sell this one.  I rarely play Pac-man Plus (the additional game on this cab) but I go back to the title game all the time. I’m not very good yet and at the time of this entry’s writing I have yet to break the 100K point barrier. One day perhaps.   

I completed this cabinet (for my purposes) over the course of the next couple of years by buying a generic riser for it in December of 2019, a matching stool from Today’s Shopping Choice in July of 2020 and a 3rd party lit marquee kit the following January. I was even sent a deck protector by Arcade1up (long after my warranty period) to protect the artwork on my control panel when I submitted a ticket asking when they would have one available on their parts page and what the cost for one would be.  It was definitely nice of them to go above and beyond for this arcade game fan.   

For the past 40 years Pac-man has been synonymous with video games and there is probably not a better example out there of a game more known, celebrated and commercialized than the big, yellow dot-eating creature.  I can’t think a better game to be the origin point of this journey for me.  I’m not sure how far I will travel on this endeavor but this first stop was extremely memorable for me. Thanks for coming along for the ride and join me for future installments where I discuss the stories behind my other 3/4 scale pickups. 

[vividracing]

New Post has been published on https://www.vividracing.com/blog/top-5-best-tonneau-covers-for-the-toyota-tacoma/

Top 5 Best Tonneau Covers for the Toyota Tacoma

An open truck bed is dangerous and somewhat careless as it leaves your belongings at the mercy of the elements and passersby. The contents as well as the truck bed itself can fade from exposure to the sun, rust from moisture damage, and fall victim to the hands of criminals. That doesn’t have to be the case though, as a tonneau cover can protect your belongings from harsh weather and sticky fingers to keep your bed looking its best for longer and give you peace of mind wherever you go. A weathertight bed cover will not only provide a line of defense against the aforementioned, but it can also elevate the rugged appeal of your truck with a streamlined look and OEM-type fit. 

With so many different options on the aftermarket ranging from fold-up covers to roll-up covers and retractable ones in soft and hard varieties, it can be quite challenging figuring out which tonneau cover may be best for you. We here at Vivid Racing conducted research to find a list of the top 5 bed covers for your Toyota Tacoma in order to take some of the guesswork out of it. The following five products are in no particular order, but have checked the boxes when it comes to quality, utility, durability, styling, and overall protection. You can also browse our complete inventory of truck bed covers for the Toyota Tacoma right here.

1. Tyger Auto T1 Soft Roll-Up Tonneau Cover

Tyger Auto’s T1 Soft Roll-Up Tonneau Cover combines daily utility with clean styling in a complete and affordable package. The cover sits only slightly above the Tacoma truck bed to complement the sleek lines of your pickup for a seamless low-profile look that also increases gas mileage with 13 percent savings! Made from tear-resistant vinyl for longevity, this cover offers superior resistance against wear so you can be sure it will last for years and years. After all, it is guaranteed to withstand exposure to changing temperatures and harsh weather elements like UV rays, rain, and wind to keep it looking grat and performing optimally no matter what.

It comes with heavy-duty rails and crossbars that provide maximum support and strength for a secure fit that will keep all your cargo safe and dry. The adjustable tension and latching system allow you to firmly secure and tighten the cover for added protection. Opening and closing this bed cover is made super simple by way of a quick-release mechanism. Such allows for the Velcro-secured, marine-grade 24-ounce vinyl tarp to be rolled up and locked to the back of the cab to maximize access to the bed. This soft rolling and lockable tonneau cover mounts on top of the Tacoma’s bed rails with the ease of a no-drill installation. All necessary hardware and instructions are included in the kit so you can install it in no time.

Features:

U.S. design patented tonneau cover

Made with marine-grade vinyl and aircraft-grade aluminum side rails

Cover is dual-coated for weather resistance and added durability

Seals with Velcro strip on the sides and secures with latch lock system

Tension system can be adjusted on the end of side rails to keep cover tight

Includes stainless steel clamps for mounting to the truck bed

Easy no-drilling installation with mounting hardware/instructions provided

2. Roll-N-Lock M-Series Retractable Tonneau Cover

Roll-N-Lock’s M-Series, the most advanced retractable bed cover on the market, has redefined the rules for truck bed security. From its retractable function, which allows for opening or closing in seconds, to its rigid, vinyl-over-aluminum laminated construction, this hybrid cover offers everything that the competition does not. There are no snaps to manipulate, no roll to lash down or stow, no crossbars to negotiate, no fabric shrinkage to struggle with, and, best of all, no worries about the security of your cargo. The Roll-N-Lock retractable bed cover is, by far, the most sophisticated and versatile truck bed cover available today.

This tonneau cover is made with heavy-duty aluminum slats that are laminated with premium-grade vinyl to provide high levels of strength. It also integrates a torsion spring for added toughness. In other words, this cover will serve you for years to come and will withstand road and weather abuse to protected and add value to your truck. The M-series is designed with great consideration for various weather conditions and includes a finger insulation grip that keeps your hands cool when operating the cover in high temperatures.

The M-Series tonneau cover provides you the security of a hard cover, the smooth appearance of a soft cover, and the convenience of a retractable cover. Its durable vinyl-over-aluminum hybrid cover design is dedicated to four-season protection and maximum bed security. It tackles durability while being extremely easy to operate with its unique frictionless construction and insulated grip lever. Simply use the key to unlock the cover and start to open it toward the cab as it retracts into its compact canister. The M-Series can open, lock, and close without ever having to open your Tacoma’s tailgate and locks in multiple open positions.

Features: 

Made with heavy-duty aluminum slats and vinyl

Compact canister design to ensure usage of maximum space

Boosts the security of your cargo and keeps it in place

Multi-dimensional locking system on three sides

Insulated grip to protect your fingers from the heat

Installs quickly and effortlessly with no drilling

Easily opens and closes with rear twist latch

3. ACCESS LOMAX Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover

The LOMAX Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover from ACCESS Covers is a low-profile stunner that is ultra-lightweight and easy to operate. This tri-fold cover maximizes your truck’s appearance with a sleek design and superior protection against the elements. While it is very light in weight, it is also extremely strong and durable. It was designed for the utmost in strength, styling, and security while also improving your truck’s gas mileage.   The LOMAX truck bed cover boasts an easy-to-use operation that is convenient enough for just one person to install and remove. It is equipped with a string latch that can be accessed from either side of the truck bed. The cover can be opened easily by pulling the string to release the latches. A built-in handle is used to return the cover to its closed position. The cover locks at ten points along the bed for superior security. Bolt-on clamps are used to secure the tonneau cover rails to your Tacoma’s truck bed. Once the rails are installed, the cover simply locks into place without the need for any drilling.

The LOMAX Hard Tri-Fold Cover uses durable aluminum panels with strong, waterproof hinges. Each panel is manufactured from top-grade aluminum alloy in either the textured matte black finish or diamond plate finish. Extruded aluminum channels support the panels, keeping the hard truck bed cover rigid and reducing its overall weight. More than 90 percent of LOMAX Hard Tri-Fold Covers can be recycled. Water-resistant hinges, rubber seals, and minimal metal-on-metal contact come together to reduce unwanted vibrations and noises for a quieter ride as well.

Features:

Low-profile design

Sleek aluminum construction

Ultra-lightweight and strong

Offers a weathertight seal

Incorporated storage kits

User-friendly operation

Easy to remove and reinstall

Simple installation process

4. BAK Industries Revolver X2 Rolling Tonneau Cover 

The BAK Revolver X2 Roll-Up truck bed cover does it all with unrivaled strength, security, and styling. This tonneau cover offers more flexibility than paneled hard tonneaus as it allows you to roll the cover up and use every inch of the bed without blocking your rear window. This is an important feature as driving with your tonneau cover rolled up could be a hazard for your rear windshield. For this reason, BAK provides four D-shaped cab bumpers that are stuck to the cover when it is rolled up. They prevent the cover from bumping against your windshield and damaging it.

This hard roll-up tonneau features hinged, ¼-inch thick rust-proof slats made from aircraft-grade aluminum with a black powder-coated finish. Matte black rubber and bulkhead seals keep the train out and secure your belongings from nasty weather, while the premium vinyl finish keeps water from running through the aluminum slates. This cover has exclusive automatic rotational locking rails that secure the cover the entire length of the bed on each side. The automatic Patented Slam Latch system at the tailgate fastens the Revolver X2 along the length of your Tacoma bed to keep your cargo safe.

The Revolver X2 truck bed cover easily rolls up with one-handed operation and can carry up to 400 pounds of evenly distributed weight. To open, simply pull the hand release that is aligned with the Slam Latch system from either side. Underneath, there is an attached felt material to provide a soft and cool spot for your hands to operate the cover to keep them safeguarded from the rolling aluminum. Aluminum clamps hold the frame rails snug to the truck bed with mounting plates and secure bolts. Best of all, there is no drilling needed to install this tonneau cover.

Features: 

Constructed of aluminum slats with vinyl overlay

Patented rotational locking rails

Side rail seals with a smooth flat design

Rear Corner Caps for a more refined appearance

Felt Replacement Cap System

Integrated Bulkhead Seal for superior sealing

Operate from either side with an automatic slam latch

Works with most 5th wheel hitches

Can hold 400 lbs of evenly distributed weight

Durable Safety Straps and buckles to secure cover when open

5. Extang Solid Fold 2.0 Hard Tonneau Cover

The Extang Solid Fold 2.0 Tonneau Cover is the brand’s latest generation of hard tri-fold truck bed covers with new design elements that you simply will not find anywhere else. The Solid Fold 2.0 includes Extang’s exclusive, patented Jaw-Grip and EZ-Lock clamps with 1-inch thick EnduraShield panels, and integrated corner and hinge seals. What’s more, revolutionary snap-on perimeter seals further protect your Tacoma’s bed from the elements to keep it looking and working like new for years to come.

The Solid Fold 2.0’s EnduraShield panels feature an automotive-grade polymer that resists dents, scratches, and harmful UV rays better than aluminum or fiberglass panels. The matte black textured finish not only looks rugged and aggressive, but also proves to be highly durable. Extang’s professionally engineered aluminum frame and hinges are also powder coated to match your truck’s bed caps for a more integrated appearance with incredible protection from unwanted wear.

The Solid Fold 2.0 comes fully assembled out of the box and installs in just seconds. Extang’s cab clamps attach directly to your Tacoma’s bed flanges without any damage or alteration to your bed caps. On top of that, this package includes a re-engineered patented EZ-Lock Clamp that requires minimal effort to operate and self-locks in position for added security.

Features: 

Lightweight, 1-inch thick EnduraShield panels 

Weight rating of 600 lbs evenly distributed

Matte black textured finish for added durability

Offers that OEM look for a streamlined appearance

Ultra-resistant against harsh weather conditions

Re-engineered patented EZ-Lock Clamp

Easy to operate and self-locks in position