Killing Myself

Well that's what it felt like Sunday when we pulled the 460 motor out of Project Responder. It was about 95 with 100% humidity. It may as well have been 150 degrees as hot as it felt. It took a couple of hours even after preparing all week for the chore by removing all of the accessories and connections to the engine. As hot and humid as it was, I thought I was going to pass out or have a stroke. It was an incredible amount of work, even with all of the preparation. We were very fortunate in that no major damage was done to the truck in the process. We had to remove one of the Grover Stuttertone air horns to keep it from getting disfigured by the engine hoist. The only casualty was the Federal Q-Siren which got a very, very small dent in the front of the grille, but it will be very easy to remove the grille and repair the damage.

We did have to cut the oil lines to the remote oil filter and we had to remove the line from the B&M transmission cooler. To keep the tranny fluid from fully draining, we were able to use one of Mocap's vinyl plastic caps to seal up the cooler which worked like a charm.

This was the worst case scenario and I hope I do not ever have to remove the engine from this truck again. It was not fun and I'm not looking forward to putting it back in. I am looking forward to having it done and over with. Anyone want to volunteer to do this instead?

Stargate Atlantis - Why the show is doomed!

Ok, time to get on my soapbox again. The topic today: Stargate Atlantis on the Sci-Fi channel. I saw the preview last night and I have to say, this show is doomed to failure from the start. (get ready for the bad puns)

The new show is doomed from the gitgo and will only last this season because of the dualality of StarGate and Atlantis being aired together. On it's own, Atlantis is going to sink faster than the Titanic.

The reason SG is so popular is because it's rooted in reality. Things that we can easily identify with. It's the Air Force, Wyoming and Earth. People who do not consider themselves sci-fi fans in general can still find a great deal of enjoyment and believability in SG1.

Atlantis, from the preview last night, looks like another failed show, Star Trek's Deep Space Nine. It's a city out in space somewhere with aliens that look like a cross between Klingons and Cardassians. The set even looks like something out of the Star Trek franchise. There does not seem to be any originality other than the city that floats.

And what's with the new gate design? Again, there is very little carry over from SG to Atlantis. The new gate design looks sci-fi. The original gate looks very Egyptian and believable.

I predict that Atlantis will float this year but will sink like a rock next season when SG is not around to keep it afloat. (bad puns intended)

If I were a betting man, and Vegas were laying odds, I'll wager a bundle on that.