Discovery+

We each have our own set of favorite channels on the the TV and they fall pretty much along the stereotypical gender lines. I could live with just a few, Motortrend, MAVTV, NBCSports1 and WE tv2. Donna needs literally just two, HGTV and the Food Network.

We both could do with out all the commercial interruptions while watching TV. I can tune mostly tune them, especially if I hit mute, but Donna really despises them. You would have thought we would have jumped on the Discovery+ streaming service when it first became available, but we held out. We are already spending a fair amount on cable TV and while the base rate of $5 a month isn’t much, it seemed a bridge too far. But when we discovered3 that they offered an ad-free version for just 2 bucks more we decided to give that 7 day free trail a go.

So far, two days in, the jury is still out. Very little of the Discovery+ originals have been worth anything extra, so whether we stick around after this coming Sunday is going to come down how long we can be entertained by watching the older shows from Donna’s favorite two channels.

I thought it might be fun to watch one of her favorite shows from the beginning and watch them in order, sort of like the Law & Order marathons on WE tv. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives has 419 episodes, roughly the same amount as Law & Order’s 456, but if we did that what would we watch on Fridays because Food runs them all day long.

Today we went back and watched the first episode of Love It or List It from HGTV, their mere 154 episodes seemed less daunting. We are used to seeing the later episodes and were surprised how different everything was. The real big difference was instead of the two stars do the setup dialog, there was an announcer doing it, that sounded like the same voice that does House Hunters. Both leads had aged pretty well in the 8 years the show ran and looked only slightly different. When I asked out loud, “Aren’t they married?”4 Donna said no, but went to look it up on the internet. We discovered that they were not ever married to each other, but we did discover5 that the woman, Hillary Farr, was actually an actress back in the 70s & 80s. She even had a small part in that cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Right-Hand Drive Toyota Edition of SORT
As of Monday, April 12, 2021 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1993 Toyota Supra 1992 Toyota Land Cruiser 1984 Toyota Century
We’ll be fast and furiously driving all around Oregon in this silver bullet. Rough and ready for any off-road adventure we can find or dare. Donna will be driving while wearing white gloves and I’ll ride in the back.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to, if the reserve was not met.
Sports: 1971 BMW 2002 5-Speed Sold for $50,000
Off-Road: 1986 Jeep J-10 Pickup 4×4 Sold for $21,500
Touring: 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series Sold for $125,000

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to, if the reserve was not met.
Sports: 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Sold for $74,000
Off-Road: 1988 Mercedes-Benz 240GD Sold for $37,600
Touring: 1965 Ford Falcon Country Squire Wagon Sold for $11,200

It’s Baseball Season Edition of SORT
As of Monday, April 5, 2021 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1971 BMW
2002 5-Speed		 1986 Jeep
J-10 Pickup 4×4		 2008 Mercedes-Benz
CLK63 AMG Black Series
This is almost too nice looking to hoon, but it wouldn’t stop me. It is a 4×4 & a pickup which checks 2 big boxes on our automobile wish list. A land-based rocket ship for when you have to be there NOW!.

Hope Springs Eternal

⚾ 2018 seems so long ago.

For 2019 I just listened to the Red Sox play baseball and was glad I hadn’t coughed up the hundred bucks or so for the video because they were just a mid-level team finishing mid-division and out of the playoffs. For 2020 I bought the radio package again expecting more of the same. COVID put a damper on the season, limiting the season to a mere 60 games, but the FRS did not disappoint me and lost 60% of those games, finishing last in the division.6

With our move to the west coast I though listening to the games in the afternoon would be more fun that late evening, but I was wrong, I probably listened to maybe a quarter of those 60 games. Just wasn’t the same. So this year I thought maybe I’d try watching the games. I’d have two options, watch them live at 4:00pm or watch the replay of the game at 8:00. I cancelled the audio package and signed up for the TV package.

Because it is April and still chilly in Beantown the first 3 games of the season, at home against Baltimore, were 1:00pm games meaning that they stated at 10:00am here. Morning baseball, mmm, weird, but okay in a way. But not fun as the Sox lost all three games, including an 11-3 shellacking in the finale that was over by the 3rd inning. There are like 3 players left on the the team that I remember from 2018 and now I’m sort of regretting paying that much money to watch a team that looks destined to finish dead last in the division again.

Fortunately I signed up for the free 7 day trial to start, so as of yet they haven’t hit the charge card. The Tampa Bay Rays come to town for the next three games and if they don’t win at least 2 of those, I’m going to just cancel and not be out the money.

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to, if the reserve was not met.
Sports: 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder Sold for $119,000
Off-Road: 1999 AM General Hummer H1 Open Top Bid to $47,500
Touring: 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Sold for $49,000

Out Like A Lamb Edition of SORT
As of Monday, March 29, 2021 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 1988 Mercedes-Benz 240GD 1965 Ford Falcon Country Squire Wagon
A cousin of the classic color combo. And I think I like it better than silver/red. I wonder what kind of markings the Danish military uses? A non-working A/C? No wonder the Phoenix owner is selling it.

Winter 1995 Miata Magazine

Back in December when it came time to publish a 25-year old article from the defunct Miata Club of America’s quarterly magazine here, I found an article that I thought would be a good one. As usual I wanted to get permission, and as not usual I happened to locate this person, so I wrote to him:

Dec 20, 2020
Al,

I am a long time Miata owner and used to be the webmaster of a Miata Club in the Augusta, GA area. I had a complete collection of the magazines that the Miata Club of America published during their existence and used to reprint one article that I found interesting on the Club’s website every time an issue became 25 years old.

Well, I left the Masters Miata Club and no one wanted to take up the reins, so the website has now gone the way of the Miata Club of America and its magazine. But I have my own personal blog and for the last year I took up reprinting the quarterly articles there.

I still credit the author of the article on the blog and if I could I would ask permission, but usually a cursory search of the internet doesn’t result in a find, until now…

So, would you mind if reprinted ->Racing Techniques for Everyday Driving: Eye Training<- on Life of Brian? I would, of course link to your own website or if you desired your author page on Amazon.

Thank you,
Brian Bogardus

After a couple days and I didn’t hear back, I picked a different one to post, Good Bones.


Dec 24, 2020
Hello,

First – to satisfy my curiosity, where did you find my e-mail address?

Second – I looked at “Life of Brian” and can’t see where my piece would fit in. I see no other previously published articles there.

BTW – I am still actively writing and having my work published. See my website: www.alkarasa.com

Thank you for inquiring.
Al Karasa

He didn’t really say yes or no, but I took the no as being implied in the “can’t see where my piece would fit in” phrase, so I wrote back to answer his 2 points. And just maybe the line about still writing and actively published was a hint that it could be yes if I ponied up some money.

Dec 24, 2020
Al,

First – I found you the way most anyone would…Google. I googled your name and the first hit was your Amazon Author Page. I read the bio and thought, “I bet this is the guy.” Google’s fifth hit was your personal webpage and on the lower left of the About Me page was a link to email you.

Second – Your piece would fit in precisely because I found it interesting in a twenty-five year old magazine and I thought that my 4 or 5 dedicated readers could benefit from it. You didn’t find any other previously published article because you would have had to drill back through 40 odd posts or about a half-dozen pages worth because the last one was from the Fall Issue of the Miata Magazine.

When I didn’t hear back from you by a couple days later, I went ahead and reprinted my second choice…

Thanks for responding, have a wonderful holiday,
Brian

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Before we get to this weeks edition, I am going to list what last week’s cars sold for.7
Sports: 2007 Honda S2000 Sold for $28,250
Off-Road: 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser Bid to $24,000
Touring: 2000 BMW 540i Sold for $17,750

It’s Spring, Convertibles For Everyone! Edition of SORT
As of Monday, March 22, 2021 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder 1999 AM General Hummer H1 Open Top 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible
I wonder, with the Doppler shift, what color this will appear to be to bystanders as you rocket by? The forest service roads around here might not be wide enough for this thing, but it wouldn’t matter. 😉 A friend of my mother had one of these, but in pink and she had no affiliation with Mary Kay.