Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

ateixeira

So you guys have the F-XT and the GLK now? You sold the SLK before you left, right?

Can you downsize to a WRX?

volkov

Half our yard was green with over a week of rain after Xmas holiday - that never happens here. Winter showed up late to the party this year for us but it seemed to have gotten lubricated before arrival. -51F with the windchill on Tues morning. Down to minus 30 this AM but there is no wind, so it actually feels a little warmer. Sure Wes must be getting the same in Fairbanks.
What about the coming soon Impreza SV or whatever it's called?

p0926

DC Auto Show - Weekends are always too crowded so I'm fine with a weekday. I'm out of town for work on Friday the 27th but the following Tuesday or Wednesday (31st / 1st) would work.

-Frank

fibber2

Hey Frank! Home for good, or do you have another tour to look forward to? My nephew recently finished his 3rd round (two in Iraq, one in Afghanistan). I think he was too busy keeping his head down to appreciate the scenery!

Good to have you back.

p0926

So you guys have the F-XT and the GLK now? You sold the SLK before you left, right?

Correct! Still miss the SLK. The prices for new ones are rediculous :sick:

The trouble with the WRX is the rear window is so sloped. It's not a good fit for carrying around two big labs. Also like the bigger rear seating that the new Foresters have. The GLK really isn't any roomier than my current F-XT and it would be nice to have something with a little more room for rear seat passengers.

How crazy would it be to buy a Forester XT and then swap out the trans for one from the WRX? Do they still share the same engine? Paisan, you interested?

-Frank

xwesx

Very cold here, but thankfully also very little, if any, wind. We did have a slight breeze on Wednesday evening, and my goodness did that feel cold! The ambient temp was "only" -20F or so, though, so it was better than if the air was moving that morning with temps closer to -40.

We were up to -18 this morning, and it felt downright nice compared to a day earlier!

Glad you made it back all in one piece, Frank! 1600+ posts... was that all? Folks around here are slacking! :P

p0926

Hi Steve! I better be home for good. At least if I want to stay married (and I do!)

p0926

Wes - I spent the winter holidays in Fairbanks many moons ago. I think -40 was the lowest it got while I was there. I can still remember the icicles forming in my mustache from the condensation in my breath. Good times

-Frank P.

ateixeira

I can do both days, so I'll let Bob pick.

Mr. Holland? What say ye?

Any one else wanna join?

ladywclass

Opened the forum this afternoon and knew something was 'up' by all the posts today.

Welcome home, Frank! Glad you're back on our side of the world (but probably not 1/2 as glad as you are to BE back!! )

Brenda

hondafriek

Welcome back Frank good to hear from you again. I'm still here although sporadically. I like to pop in from time to time to catch up, and post when i have something relevant to say.

Cheers Pat.

hondafriek

Ah Colin, you must be getting old or sensible. I mourned not being able to drive stick for a long time, (due to medical problems). However when I had the Protege5 it was in for a couple of days for warranty work. They gave me a loaner but the only thing they had was stick.

After a couple of days driving around Ottawa I was permanently cured of my longing for a stick shift.

Cheers Pat.

colin_l

Older for dang sure. More sensible... maybe, maybe not.

rsholland

the following Tuesday or Wednesday (31st / 1st) would work.

Either day is fine. If we do it on Friday 2/3, we can celebrate my B'Day!

Bob

ateixeira

Why don't we plan on the 31st, since Frank can make it.

Sound good?

Anyone else? Lucien - want to make the trip down from Baltimore?

tsy

Welcome Back Frank! Glad you're safe and sound here in the states! It does sound like beautiful country- it's too bad we humans screw that up!

I only had to catch up on about 120 posts, it must have taken you a week!

Hope everyone has had a good year!

Rob, how 'bout the Patriots! Should be a great Superbowl!

I've been pretty busy with work and holidays and catching the flu.

I was in Vegas before Christmas for a conference and rented a Camaro SS for kicks. It was a fun car for a few days but I wouldn't want to own one. Didn't feel as fast as the STI and is a pretty big car! Amazing how well it handled for a big car though.

We got a bit of snow last week which is unusual. Amazing how 1" of snow can shut down Seattle!

Keep healthy everyone!

tom

ateixeira

Do any good smoky burnouts?

lilbluewgn02

Frank, glad to see you back here safe and sound...it's always good to hear from an old friend..welcome home!

tsy

Nah, no burnouts! Did get the car a little sideways when the summer tires were cold though!

rob_m

Yeah, how about the Patriots! I thought that last game was going to kill me! So looking forward to 'The Big Game' ... we can't say Super Bowl, can we?

Not so sure about the half-time show ...

PF_Flyer

I'm pretty sure we can talk about Superb Owls though :shades:

grahampeters

G'day

Have just had three days minding friends' two Labradors. The contrast to our own dog has been amusing. She always keeps a close eye on anything I am doing, but not so close as to be intrusive. In contrast, the labs are underfoot, every minute of the day and night. I got up for the bathroom and tripped over one next to my bed and the other one lying on the cools tiles of the en-suite. We now have blond dust-bunnies skittering across the polished floors.

I have been moving furniture, which has been complicated by large dogs underfoot, every step of the way. Lab Assist involves being right where I want to put something down, every time.

That has also meant a stay at home weekend as travelling with three dogs is a challenge. They are used to travelling in the rear of an SUV but our dog expects to travel, stretched between our children on the rear seat. You then end up with petty jealousies.

Mind you, the intrusive cat from next door seems to have made itself scarce; here is hoping that is long lasting.

Cheers

Graham

fibber2

After having several German Shepherds, a Yellow Lab is a real comedown! Don't get me wrong, Sadie is a sweet girl, but doesn't hold a candle to her predecessors.

One upside, however, is that Labs seem to have more of a 'Love the one you're with' type attitude. We have friends who regularly take in Sadie when we travel, and she adapts almost instantly when we drop her off. As though we were interchangeable. By contrast, the Shepherds had far more 'separation anxiety'.

ateixeira

No dog will ever replace Hadji, but we recently adopted a Greyhound mix (Tank) and he has the same issues with separation anxiety.

OTOH he responds well to affection and is very sweet, very non-aggressive.

He's also fast, as you may imagine. :shades:

tsy

It was a little too exciting for my taste! Makes me a little nervous about NY!

xwesx

Sounds like an adventurous weekend, even if it was at home!

I think labs have separation anxiety as well, but it tends to result in "clinginess" rather than the type of anxiety more possessive dogs, like Shepherds, might have. It is almost like they are afraid to let you out of sight in the off chance that you might leave them too.

I suspect that cat will be back as soon as the dust settles.

grahampeters

G'day

The cat did reappear fairly rapidly.

Our dog slept for hours after the Labradors left, much of it draped over me. We got the impression of "Guests are nice, but isn't it great to get your home back to yourself?".

At least she was politer than when my Mother in Law or Sister visit; each pretty innocuous, although my sister did once tell Sirius to get off an armchair, which has probably placed her firmly in the dog's bad books. Sirius usually sleeps soundly, but when my sister or mother in law are here, she sits rigidly on the end of my bed, ears fully pricked, guarding me from any possible intrusion when I sleep. It is rather disconcerting, trying to sleep with a dog, looking worryingly like the Anubis, growling at each movement of the "stranger" in the next room; she clearly regards them as a threat and is keen to warn the boss. I have been repeatedly asked for my training tricks, as it has now dissuaded my mother in law (who is a lovely, dog loving woman) from visiting.

Cheers

Graham

fibber2

Edmunds access has been terrible for days..... Hamsters & chipmunks need nourishment....

xwesx

Hahaha! That's a well-tuned "trick" indeed!

hammerhead

I had no access at all for a couple days - all I found was a 'Road Closed' sign!

stever

If you had scrolled down past the sign, you would have found the local businesses still open. :shades:

I think the batteries are all recharged now.

ateixeira

I didn't notice at first, but it worked despite the warnings. Strange.

All better now.

ladywclass

"Happy Ballentime's Day!"

PF_Flyer

I remember that commercial jingle...

Baseball & Ballentime :shades:

fibber2

"Hey, get your cold beer! Hey, get your Ballentine." P. Ballentine & Sons, Newark, NJ

My dad still says one of the saddest days of his life was the day the brewery closed in 1972. He like everyone else lost their jobs, and every cent of their pensions. Falstaff only bought the name and the formula, leaving behind an empty building and shattered lives. We lived on Long Island, in a heavy aerospace funded region. Big business failures along with cutbacks at NASA & Defense sent unemployment skyrocketing in our community. Rising energy costs and then the Arab Oil Embargo added to the woes. We all got a healthy taste of austerity for about a 2 year period.

KCRam

Newark (my first home) was a pretty big beer city for decades...

- Anheuser-Busch, across from Newark Airport (still there and operating)
- Pabst Blue Ribbon, South Orange Avenue, west side of Newark (closed 1986)
- Rheingold, off Main Street in nearby Orange NJ (closed 1976)
- Ballantine & Sons, River Street, by the Passaic River (closed 1972)

Ironically, Pabst is the current owner of the Ballantine brand name.

kcram - Pickups/Wagons/Vans+Minivans Host

ladywclass

A few years ago, I asked my husband to get us a "setup" that we could use to turn vinyl into mp3's. I have QUITE a collection. We have not had a usable turntable in years. He bought one 2-3 years ago, but it wasn't exactly 'all in the box' and every time I'd look at what we needed to put together the complete package, it just seemed quite expensive. I've checked several times as prices have gone down.

Yesterday, I was out shopping and spotted a system I'd looked at online. It was in a department store that didn't sell as many as they hoped at Christmas so they were clearancing them. I also had a 30% store coupon. Bought what had started at $149 for less than $50. Before I opened it, I got online and checked reviews/prices, etc. and was satisfied with what I'd bought. Got it out and set it up. Brought down a stereo shelf system bought about 10 years ago (you know about the time everyone went to iPods instead of CD's, although it does have a USB and I can link the CD system to the computer to copy files from CD's). The turntable I bought can play as a regular turntable with the stereo system even though the system has no phono jack. The turntable has a built in preamp. That worked great and I was sitting here grinning while playing a record that I haven't listened to in years.

Next I installed the software that came with it. Hooked the turntable to the computer with the USB cable. Everything was super easy to manage with the recording, and then it imports it into iTunes. Splits the tracks and lets you type in the album information. All I did was give the record a good dusting before converting, and I think it sounds great. I'm sure there are some 'audiophiles' that wouldn't be satisfied, but I love it.

As a bonus, I can also hook a system that plays cassettes through the turntable and convert those, too!

I think I got a pretty sweet deal ...

xwesx

That sounds great, Brenda! What is this magical device?

ladywclass

again, probably not what a true audiophile would use ... it's an Ion profile pro USB turntable with input ... but for ease of hookup and use ... it's great!

KCRam

I've had that Ion equipment on my Amazon wish list for years... it comes well regarded, and the only reason I haven't pulled the trigger on it is because I just haven't had the time to dedicate to doing the conversions. Glad to hear it's as good as advertised!

kcram - Pickups/Wagons/Vans+Minivans Host

ateixeira

Story I often share is that the big 3 breweries are no longer American owned:

Budweiser - Ambev owns it now
Coors - Molsen
Miller - South African Breweries

ladywclass

Well, I like that I can play them and listen while I convert. I'll do it a little at a time ... now and then ... I just couldn't pass up the 'bargain' right now ...

fibber2

I'm still searching for some magical device that can transcribe the output of my very analog acoustic Edison Cylinder recordings!! The output from the stock 14" brass and black painted bell horn just isn't that terrific. Someday I'll get the crane properly set up so that I can listen to the really big sound from my morning glory horn!! (likes listening to people who have been dead for 100 years sing...)

Beth wanted to buy me the ion usb turntable some time back, but I declined only because I just don't have the time right now. Still trying to digitize old Hi8 movies. But someday!

robr2

Story I often share is that the big 3 breweries are no longer American owned:

Budweiser - Ambev owns it now
Coors - Molsen
Miller - South African Breweries

Actually Ambev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev - a Belgium/Brazil conglomerate. It is based in Belgium.

Molson Coors is a little convoluted. They are headquartered in both Montreal and Denver but SABMiller owns 58% of the company and runs US operations. The joint venture is called MillerCoors and is based in Chicago.

SABMiller is based in London.

kyfdx

I thought SABMiller was South African?

ladywclass

I have a Victrola 'stand up' cabinet model dated 1918 with the original oak finish that works quite well to play the old thick 78's. I haven't even thought about trying to digitize that!

fibber2

In addition to the Edison Cylinder (I actually have 2 of them), I have an open horn Victor, several tabletop Victrola's (enclosed horn), and a beautiful floor standing VV-XI like the one you describe. http://www.victor-victrola.com/XI.htm

Yes, call me crazy. All this old mechanical music machine stuff fits in very well with the, oh, 20+ bicycles clogging up the basement! Fortunately, Beth has her collection of ancient and modern sewing machines - everything from a White shuttle bobbin treadle to a pair of 'featherweights' to a full computer embroidery system. We call it even, and ignore each others mental issues.....

Glad to hear that you are into this type of thing also!

ateixeira

I say we discuss over a few samples of each! :shades:

xwesx

Very interesting, Steve. Following your link, I took notice of the logo (dog looking into phonograph) and immediatley thought "RCA." So, that got me to thinking, "How are those companies linked?" In researching that, I learned all sorts of interesting tidbits of information, such as the nameplate "Victor" lives on in Japan through JVC, which was an original subsidiary of Victor Talking Machine Company created in 1929, just prior to the entire Victor company being purchased by RCA, which then in turn was purchased by GE in 1986 and subsequently dismembered.

I'm not sure what I'll do with that knowledge, but there you go. :shades:

fibber2

It is interesting, at least I've always thought so. So many names have merged and disappeared in 'high tech' (and this was incredibly high tech for the day) over the past 100 years.