Somebody really doesn't want me to enjoy life

About an hour before I was scheduled to leave today, the sky decided to open up and pour enough rain to make up for the last 5 months of drought.

Seriously.

I think I am in the Matrix, and they don't want me to be too happy, otherwise I might wake up.

WTF????

Guess what I get to unwrap tonight?

A got the call a few minutes ago. My Jeep has arrived at the dealership!

If I can actually get any work done this afternoon, I will be heading straight there after work. A will meet me with the check from the bank, and I will drive it home tonight!

It's about damn time!

I will post pics tonight as soon as I get them. Woohooo!

Jake's JK: This is not a good sign

So my Jeep is built, shipped, and unloaded from the train. So what is keeping it from being delivered to my local dealership?

Goddamned wildfires!

Seriously. The train unloads the vehicles in Miami, which then come across Alligator Alley on a truck. That just happens to be where a 15,913-acre fire is burning this week.

"Eh, it should be out in a week or so," sez the talking head from the Division of Forestry.

Fuck.

BTW, the kickass satellite pic of the smoke from the fires came from the MODIS Rapid Response System Gallery. Its a pretty sweet searchable database of images from NASA's satellites. You know, the ones Google will hijack when they take over the world.

Our tax dollars at work, folks.

Five? More like two

Honey, we need a couple of these

Uh oh, Google is at it again

I told you people this before, but nobody listens. Google is Cyberdyne Systems. You know, from the Terminator movies? Remember this? Or this?

Well, they are now one step closer to evil robotic domination. This time they enlisted Carnegie Mellon, Microsoft, and Intel to help the cause.

Take a look at the photo to the right. No, that is not a miniature Darth Vader helmet on top, it's a Logitech webcam. These guys are all about using cheap, easy to find parts. All the better for roving hunter-killers to scavenge spare parts from their disabled brethren.

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a new series of robots that are simple enough for almost anyone to build with off-the-shelf parts, but are sophisticated machines that wirelessly connect to the Internet.

The robots can take many forms, from a three-wheeled model with a mounted camera to a flower loaded with infrared sensors. They can be easily customized and their ability to wirelessly link to the Internet allows users to control and monitor their robots' actions from any Internet-connected computer in the world.

That's waaaay too close to "allows SKYNET to control and monitor their robots' actions from any Internet-connected computer in the world."

Jake's JK: I am the squeaky wheel

Well last night the DaimlerChrysler rep finally called me. He apologized for the long wait, its a very popular vehicle, factory not able to keep up with demand, yadda, yadda, yadda.

He told me that he had sent an e-mail to the plant manager in Toledo to find out exactly what the hold-up was, and he would try entering an identical order to mine into the computer system to see if it would have the same troubles I am now having. He told me that he would call me this morning to let me know what he found out, and gave me his cell phone number and told me that I could call him if I didn't hear from him this morning.

He called me at 11:55 this morning (just barely meeting his self-imposed deadline) and told me that my Jeep was built, in storage, and waiting for a train to pick it up.

Due to a nationwide railcar shartage (which is delaying a Ford my coworker's husband ordered last month) my Jeep should ship sometime between now and May 10th.

It's time to start obsessing about something else now. Ooh! I know! The Rush concert in Tampa that A bought me tickets to!!!!

Jake's JK: Of all the things I've ever lost, I miss my mind the most

I must've been sulking a little too much on Friday night, because A checked the inventory of several Jeep dealers across the state to see if there were any rigs comparable to what I ordered. There weren't, but the "other" dealer in town (the one I didn't order from) had just taken delivery of a Wrangler Unlimited with half doors-one of my "must have" options that I had yet to see in person.

We made the trek up to the dealership to take a look at it. The sales rep A talked to on the phone was working with another customer, but pointed us in the direction of the Jeep with half doors and told us she would sent the manager over with a key so we could look inside. When we got to the Jeep, I showed A why I want to install an alarm system as soon as I take possession of my Jeep. I stuck my finger under the canvas flap on the upper front door, wiggled it in, unzipped the window, reached in, and unlocked the door.

Aside from the half doors and 4 wheel drive, this particular Jeep had nothing that I wanted. I wasn't too happy with the "spice"-colored interior, and A hated the "baby-puke-shit-green" paint. So we went back inside and asked how soon they were expecting more Wrangler Unlimiteds with half doors. It turns out that they have five that should be arriving in early May, nine days before mine will even be built. I will have to compromise on a few of the extras I ordered, but nothing that is a deal-breaker. We will see how I like them when I sit in the driver's seats.

Today, I stopped at the dealership that is supposed to be working on getting my custom-ordered Jeep built and delivered. The sales manager told me that he doesn't have any answers for me. He was a little surprised that when his computer was updated this morning, it showed the same build date I was told on Friday. He said that the Chrysler rep was going to be stopping by at 3 pm, and he would give the guy my cell number.

Guess who never called?

Monday Morning Photo Quiz, Volume 2 redux

No one has given an answer to last week's MMPQ, so feel free to take a guess. Voting is open for another week. C'mon people, it's not that difficult.

Not sure what it is? There is a clue in this post.

Jake's JK: Heads are gonna roll!

As my coworkers will attest, I annoyingly call the Chrysler customer service hotline nearly every day to check on the status of my Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I was stuck at the same status code for nearly three months (D-firm schedule - dealer has allocation and all parts available) and was given a tentative build date several times by the dealership, only to have each date pass without my JK being built. Each time I was given a new build date a few weeks later than the previous.

Last week my status jumped to D-1, which coincided with my most recent build date of Saturday, April 14. Well, Saturday came and went, and Monday and Tuesday I called to find myself still in "D-1" with a build date of April 18. Thursday (the 19th), I was told by Chrysler customer service that they needed to give me a new order number, and I had moved back to "D". Furious, A called the dealer, who told her that whoever I talked to was wrong, and his computer still showed a build date of April 25th (which we had never heard before).

So I called Chrysler again today, and they couldn't find my "new" order number, so I gave them my original one, which quickly allowed them to find that my last order status was "D1" (even though they told me "D" yesterday) and that my scheduled build date is now May 14th.

MAY FUCKING 14TH!!!!!

I ordered the sonofabitch on January 19th. You can't tell me that it takes four fucking months to schedule and build a Jeep the way I want it. As a matter of fact, I know it doesn't, because I have toured the Audi factory in Ingolstadt, Germany, and they are the model of efficiency and custom manufacturing, and because other people here ordered theirs after I did, and are already driving theirs. One lucky stiff ordered his, only to have it damaged by crashing into an overpass while being delivered to the dealership, and got his replacement built and delivered. All since I ordered mine.

DaimlerChrysler, Chrysler Group, Jeep, and my local dealership (who I will not name because I don't want to give them any publicity-good or bad) have all been pretty apathetic about my situation. None of them seem to think that it's a problem that a returning customer is treated so poorly. If I didn't feel so strongly about the product, I would go elsewhere. I am not willing to sacrifice on brand, model, extras, color, or any other variable. I just want this Jeep:

2007 WRANGLER UNLIMITED X 4-DOOR 4X4 S Pkg.
Flame Red Clear Coat
Roof: Black Soft Top
Interior: Dark Slate Gray/Medium Slate Gray
6-Speed Manual Transmission
Half Metal Doors with Locks
Trailer Tow Group
Command-Trac® Shift-on-the-Fly 4WD System
Next Generation Dana 44 Heavy Duty Rear Axle
Trac-Lok® Limited Slip Rear Differential
4.10 Axle Ratio
16" Aluminum Wheels
368W 7-Spkr Infinity® Sound Sys Incl Subwoofer
AM/FM Stereo Radio w/In-Dash CD Plyr/MP3 Capability
SIRIUS® Satellite Radio
Air Conditioning
Locking Fuel Filler Cap

Actually, I could live without the Trac-Lok Differential and locking fuel cap, and I might take another color or larger wheels, but that's it. Everything else is non-negotiable. If you are a dealer and can get me one faster than May 15th, let me know. If you work for Chrysler or Jeep and can do something to get my production date moved up, please do it. I will be eternally grateful.