When you're sliding into third, and you feel a great, big...

All I can say is: Subtle.

You and me, baby, ain't nothing but mammals, er, reptiles

Amazon Beeyotch Headline of the Day

Woman Kills Raccoon With Her Bare Hands

You Say Stop, I Say Go, Go, GO!

Suffice it to say, I was royally pissed when I saw this on Jeep.com:

The Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty
is the first of its kind to be offered by any automaker. Ever. Because with this warranty, you're covered, and it lasts for as long as you own your vehicle.

OUR LIFETIME POWERTRAIN LIMITED WARRANTY IS THE ICING. OUR VEHICLES ARE THE CAKE.
The big news is that this powertrain limited warranty applies to the vast majority of our great new Jeep® vehicles.* So if you want to leave civilization behind and explore the great outdoors in a Jeep Wrangler or a Patriot, our powertrain warranty will go with you. All the way.

THE NEXT STEP IS SIMPLE. GET TO YOUR JEEP DEALER TODAY.
The only difficult decision you have to make is picking which great vehicle you want. For more information, visit your local Jeep dealer.

Yes, Jeep is offering a LIFETIME warranty for all new vehicles. No mileage limit, no time limit. As long as you keep your Jeep, the powertrain is covered. That's great news. I plan on keeping mine for, well, ever.

Except I bought it 2 months before the warranty was announced. Does this apply to me? Read the fine print:

At the expiration of the 3 year/36,000 mile Basic Limited Warranty, DaimlerChrysler Motors Company LLC extends to the original purchaser or retail lessee of each 2006 model year, 2007 model year and 2008 model year Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep vehicle sold and delivered on or after July 26, 2007 limited powertrain warranty for the lifetime of that original purchaser or retail lessee.

Fuck.

Wait a minute, dig further...

Now, if you purchased your Jeep before July 26, 2007, you can still purchase the Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty for your Jeep JK Wrangler and over the next 60 days, Don-A-Vee Jeep will be offering it to all Project-JK.com members at the following special prices:

Lifetime Warranty With a $100 Deductible
MSRP from Factory: $750
Project-JK.com Member Price from Don-A-Vee: Only $700

Lifetime Warranty with $0 Deductible
MSRP from Factory: $900
Project-JK.com Member Price from Don-A-Vee: Only $825

After September 30th, the price for a $100 Deductible Plan will go up to $1500 and the $0 Deductible Plan will go up to $1800 at MSRP. But, at that time, Don-A-Vee Jeep will still offer it at a discount to Project-JK.com members and at that time, the $100 Deductible Plan can be had for $900 and the $0 Deductible Plan for only $1050.

Get thee to project-jk.com, sign up, and thank Eddie and Jeff for the discount.

Roller Coaster of Love (Say What?)

Ah, the joys of travel.

We are in the middle of a 10-day vacation. It has definitely had its ups and downs. The tone was set Friday morning as I got out of my Jeep and realized I had forgotten to bring the backup disk back into the office. My complimentary half-day off was cut short by the hour it took to drive back home to pick up the disk and return it to the office for use while I was away.

A and I packed our gear and B into the Jeep, picked up her mom, and headed to the St. Petersburg airport, 3 hours away. Except we realized about 10 minutes into our drive on the highway that we forgot B's stroller. So we turned around and went back home to pick it up (sensing a pattern here?). Stroller in tow, we got as far as the exit at which we turned around earlier, and met up with rush hour traffic and a torrential rainfall. We crept for the next five miles at 10 mph or less, then the rain and traffic disappeared, almost as if by magic.

We made the rest of the trip to the airport with ease. B was a trooper, but did get a little slap-happy on the flight. We landed in Chicago, thinking the night was almost over.

We had gate-checked B's stroller, and had to stand around with all the other parents who had done the same while the porters tried not to look too interested about getting our items for us. After 20 minutes our stroller bag appeared, so we unpacked it and laid B down. We arrived at baggage claim behind most of the other passengers, but still had to wait another half hour before the buzzer sounded, alerting us to the arriving bags (which trickled out as if tiny little dwarfs were trucking them one-at-a-time from the plane).

We finally had our bags and were headed to the curb to catch the shuttle to the Budget car rental office, where we had pre-arranged to use their FastBreak service to simply pick up our car without having to check in with an agent. The Budget bus was pulling away from the curb as we were walking out of the baggage claim, but we were confident there was another one coming around soon. Forty-five minutes later one arrived, ensuring that we missed the 11 p.m. cutoff for the FastBreak office. So A had to wait another hour and 15 minutes in line to pick up our car. They did upgrade us from a minivan to a Suburban, so we were appreciative.

Next to the hotel. We had planned at staying at a Holiday Inn close to O'Hare for three reasons. One, we knew we would be getting in late and didn't want to take the time to drive into the city to check into the Hotel Indigo we were staying at for the next 3 days in Chicago. Two, we have Priority Club membership with the Holiday Inn chain, and three, it was cheaper than the Indigo.

Apparently Priority Club status means nothing at the Holiday Inn Select at Chicago/O'Hare, because they gave our room away when we hadn't arrived at midnight. We had reserved a room with two double beds, and all they had available was a suite with a pull-out couch. No way was I sleeping on one of those backbreakers, and I knew B would not have a good night's sleep on it with A's mom, either. Luckily the front desk clerk was able to reserve us a room at the Holiday Inn Express across the street.

A told the clerk at the Holiday Inn Express our story, and he empathized, upgrading us to a two-level suite. We got to the room, and it was, as B would say, GINORMOUS! We had to climb a staircase to the bedroom, where we discovered a single, king-sized bed. By 3:30 a.m. we had finally made it to a room with two beds and settled down to rest.

The next morning we checked out, drove into the city, and checked into the Hotel Indigo. That place is great! Elegant and modern, it appealed to the graphic designer in me. A's mom described it as French country, and I can neither confirm nor deny that description. True to its name, everything was decorated in shades of blue. The Indigo staff were the most friendly and helpful of any we encountered on this trip.

This has gotten to be too long of a post. More will come sometime later ths week.

Snakes and Arrows Concert Recap Coming Soon

Sorry, I had to go spend a few days working right after the concert in Tampa, so I haven't gotten around to posting a review yet. Three-word synopsis: Awesome, Expected, Funny.

In the meantime, check out this sweet ad for the new big-ass table computer from Microsoft.

Snakes and Arrows Tour Set List: Part II

Okay, the set list outlined in the previous post was confirmed at last night's Atlanta show. Click here to download an ISO image of an MP3 CD-ROM containing the album versions of every song (excluding Neil's drum solo).

Snakes and Arrows Tour Set List: Part I

Okay, one day before the tour officially begins, and I have found a complete set list that someone listening outside a rehearsal venue managed to post to The Rush Forum:

Posted by Speeding Wheels From the Mike Portnoy forum:


***SPOILER***
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SPOILER PADDING


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Just got back to my hotel after a VERY amazing day... but the story of the trip here is for a different thread. This thread is simply to inform everybody of tonights final rehearsal setlist.

We were NOT allowed onto the grounds of HiFi Buys Amphitheatre... .but we were told to stand across the street, which we did for a while before we found a location with better sound (and less traffic passing by!)

So... for those that want to know... here is what they played tonight!!!



Limelight
Digital Man
Entre Nous
Mission
Freewill
The Main Monkey Business
The Larger Bowl
Secret Touch
Circumstances
Between The Wheels
Dreamline
(unidentified song... there was a long silence after Dreamline so we went to find a restoom and refreshments, upon leaving the gas station we could hear SOMETHING, but couldnt make it out before it was over)

INTERMISSION


Video Intro (unable to see it... but was about 2-3 minutes long)
Far Cry
Workin Them Angels
Armor and Sword
Spindrift
The Way The Wind Blows
Subdivisions
Natural Science
Witch Hunt
MalNar
Drum Solo
Hope
Summertime Blues (ugh!)
The Spirit of Radio
Tom Sawyer

ENCORE

One Little Victory
A Passage to Bangkok
YYZ

Thats all folks!!!

Time to create a playlist in iTunes and burn to an MP3 CD for the ride up to Tampa in the new Jeep!

Jake's JK: Not that I'm going to trade it in. Ever.

It's a good feeling when you get external confirmation of something you had a gut feeling about. I knew Jeep Wranglers have a high resale value, but this is great news:

2007 Top 10 Value Retaining Cars:
The 2007 Jeep Wrangler took the top spot, having retained 73% of its value over a 5 year/65,000 mile period

Fuckn' A.

That means in 2012, if I am sick of the JK (which I truly doubt will happen) I should be able to get $18,250 for it.

Not a bad down payment.

On a 2012 Jeep Wrangler.

Rush's 2007 Snakes and Arrows Tour Countdown

Only 10 days until Tampa...

If anyone happens to see them in Atlanta or West Palm and can remember the set list (or even a partial list of songs), please leave a comment and let me know!

While we all wait in anticipation, here is the video for "Far Cry", the first single from Snakes and Arrows.