So, did you get any snow this year?
Since the truck has been knocked out of commission, the Baby Bronco has been elevated to active duty.
Category Archives: Home
Snow day gone wrong!
We woke up to a beautiful March 1st morning, a true Winter Wonderland after receiving more snow than ever before. We were so excited, snapping pics and video of the huge snowfall as we started our day. Our driveway was totally snowed in and we soon realized driving into work was not an option.
We’ve been thankful that we had dodged all the recent power outages hitting our area, but our luck ran out as we lost power in the morning. No worries, I started up the generator and got our “necessities” up and running with a few extension cords running thought-out the house.
I decided to run out and see if I can get the truck started. I knew that it was our only option if we were going to get out of our driveway any time soon. I threw on my snow boots at ran out to find that our carport which houses the Truck and Bronco had collapsed.
My heart sank when I saw the truck damaged from the collapsed carport. Thankfully the truck took one for the team and saved the Bronco with only inches to spare. I carefully maneuvered the Bronco out to get it away from the failed trusses, but it took us a while to shovel the snow out enough to free the Bronco from the failing structure.
After finally getting the Bronco position away from the carport we went inside to get warm and discuss our options going forward… then we heard the crash!!!!
We ran outside to find the carport had again failed, completely crushing the truck and damaging the hood, cab and bed. We are so happy we got the Bronco out of the way just in time to avoid any damage to our newest ride, but the truck took more damage.
Not sure what insurance is willing to do about the damage to the truck but I’m fearing the worst. “The Black Pearl” has been a big part of my life for nearly a decade, and I’ve put a lot of money, love and miles into the truck. It’s far from perfect, but it’s my baby and if it can’t be repaired I will be unable to replace it.
I’ve been living in these mountains for over 30 years and have never suffered a weather related incident like this. I’m hoping The Beast can be saved but I’m so thankful it wasn’t any worse.
Congratulations to the YHS Mock Trial Team
The Yosemite High School Mock Trial Team is #1 in Madera County, and they’re going to State Finals next month!
Ali has loved every minute of this experience, and we have loved hearing the play by play of the courtroom drama over these past few weeks.
The team received additional personal awards and Ali received an award for Best Defense Witness.
Needless to say we are so proud of this girl, and wish her and the entire team further success as they move forward to their next challenge.
Dragon’s Lair X RepliCade Overhaul Edition
Another long wait is over!!!
I ordered this little beauty nearly a year ago, and it arrived a few months ahead of schedule. Dragon’s Lair was originally released in 1983 and was one of my favorite games growing up. I spent much of my limited arcade money on this game, as it took two quarters to play a game that usually ended in just a minute of play. Dragon’s Lair used laserdisc technology and animation from the legendary Don Bluth, offering greatly superior graphics compared to other video games at the time.
This miniaturized 1/6 scale cabinet features a control panel with authentic ball-top joystick and action buttons, a cabinet constructed from premium materials including wood, metal, and plastic, illuminated marquee and coin doors, high-resolution cabinet art reproduction on quality 3M vinyl overlays, and a LDV1000 Mini LaserDisc player replica prop with rear cab storage drawer.
It plays the original 1983 Dragon’s Lair LaserDisc arcade game running on Daphne emulator on a gorgeous traditional 4:3 aspect ratio 4.2-inch screen. This tiny reproduction has HDTV Connectivity with screen mirroring, amplified multi-speaker audio with volume control, USB controller support, a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery, an operator’s menu featuring dip switch settings and cabinet controls, and a fully functional digital scoreboard displaying players’ scores, lives, and credits.
Crazy right?
The gameplay on this little cabinet is incredible. Using the tiny joystick and buttons is actually pretty easy and the game is perfectly playable even at its small scale. I think it even plays better than my 3/4 scale Arcade1Up version I picked up last year.
Oh yeah, I also ordered a 3/4 scale cabinet from Arcade1Up last year which also arrived way ahead of schedule. I’ve been meaning to post up about the new arcade cabinet, but it’s much too heavy to bring out to my normal photo location on my patio bar. 🙂 I’ll post up more info on this beast later but now back to its little brother.
New Wave Toys has really hit this one out of the park, creating a small scale replica that is true to the original arcade version in both looks and playability. Adding a retro arcade fluorescent carpet pad and scale stool perfectly finished off the set.
Can’t wait to see what New Wave Toys comes up with next… Oh yeah, that’s right! I also ordered another Don Bluth classic “Space Ace” which hopefully will ship next month.
Hasbro Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler’s Proton Pack
OMG, It’s finally here!!!!
I ordered this bad boy way back in 2021 when Hasbro offered it up via the Haslab crowdfunding platform. They needed 7,000 backers to proceed and they received over 19,000 eager Ghostbusters fans with the product scheduled for release in spring 2023.
Well it’s truly hard to believe that even with all the Covid related delays and supply chain issues, the good folks at Hasbro managed to get this out earlier than expected.
The pack connects to the previously released and awesome Hasbro Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler’s Neutrona Wand which I had already purchased way back in 2020. They both work together and the pack actually responds to the actions of the wand. This is truly unexpected as the original wand was created as a stand alone item, with no plans at the time to create the entire pack.
Here’s a quick video of the pack in operation.
Of course I’ve made a few little modifications to bring the beast closer to the actual movie prop, but this thing is pretty darn cool right out of the box.
Owning a full size Ghostbusters Proton Pack has been a dream of mine since first seeing the movie way back in 1984. Until Hasbro produced this beauty, the only option was to gather up all the parts, assemble, paint and install all the electronics yourself, or pay someone thousands of dollars to build a pack for you. Although the Hasbro pack is not as authentic as these more expensive options, it’s definitely good enough for me and well exceeded my expectations.
Hasbro teased us Ghostbusters fans by hinting that they may be offering up another item later this year. I’m hoping it’s a ghost trap, or preferably an updated PKE Meter that also doubles as a ghost taser as seen in the Afterlife film.
Until them, “We have the tools, We have the talent…”
Who ya gonna call?
Happy Birthday Grizzly Bear!
Happy 4th Birthday to this little bag of wrinkles!
My latest addiction!
Oh my… these things are the bee’s knees!!!!
First there was the normal everyday sunflower seeds, which seemed fine at the time. Then came such favorites as “Cracked Pepper”, “BBQ”, “Spicy Sweet Chili”, and of course one of the best, “Dill Pickle”, but hot damn these “Takis Fuego” seeds are incredible.
Stop whatever you are doing at this moment and go grab a bag of these hot and spicy delights!!!
A Baby Bronco just for me!
That’s right, I got tired of the limited seat time I’ve been getting in my wife’s new Bronco Sport so I bought my own.
This bad boy is sporting a high lift, huge off-road tires, gargantuan push bar up front, and this baby is 100% electric.
Charge time is only 30 minutes which produces about 20 minutes of drive time. Needless to say I’ll be spending most of my drive time close to home.
If you happen to see me out and about in this beauty, make sure you say hi and give us a big thumbs up as you pass by! ??
Update (2/4)
I was so excited to find one in Cyber Orange, and it’s an actual Badlands Edition!!!
Don’t they look cute together?
I’ve decided to keep both and only drive the Cyber Orange Baby Bronco on Sundays!
Happy Birthday to Bill!
Happy Birthday to my MARVELous husband.
Love you forever and always!
All Hail the Full Size Spare Tire!
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the optional full size spare tire.
After owning the new Bronco for only a week, my wife found a tire air removal device on the drive home from work. It was so nice to pull out a full size matching spare rather than the little donut options we’ve had in the past.
Now we can run the Baby Bronco normally until we can get the tire fixed.
Update (11/26)
Well wouldn’t you know it? I took the tire into the local shop today to get it plugged and back on the road, but when they were breaking the bead, a part of the sidewall split open. They could not see any damage at all on the outside, but the tear is pretty huge.
I’m heading down to the dealer tomorrow to see if they will cover this as a defect. This poor thing only lasted 824 miles, and now it’s heading to the tire graveyard.
Update on the Update (11/27)
Well, they didn’t warranty the tire, I had to pay full price. The dealer wouldn’t even look into it, just got a quick NO and asked if I wanted to buy a new one. Which is strange as one of the things that stood out during our purchase of the Bronco was that the finance guy specifically mentioned that even the tires are covered against defect.
So, my wife was driving home when the air pressure warning hit. She pulled over immediately and the tire still had enough air for her to think it was an error as it looked fine to her. By the time I got there it was totally flat.
AAA swapped to the spare and I took the tire to our local shop for a plug. The shop said the sidewall split when they broke the bead. So either it was some kind of defect, or the shop damaged it and didn’t take responsibility (which I feel is highly unlikely).
Buckin’ Bronco!
Well, look what we did!!!
Had to take out a 30 year loan for this bad boy, but say hello to our new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, Badlands Edition.
This thing has so many new gizmos and gadgets, we’re going to spend the next year just trying to figure everything out!
It’s Turbo time!
I only took me 25 years, but I finally got my hands on a Turbo Man!!!!
Axe-cellent night at Yosemite Axe Throwing!
OMG, I had such a great night at Yosemite Axe Throwing during the Summer League Tournament. I’m so thankful that we have such a fun event in our small mountain community! I’ve been hooked from the start and look forward to competing again in the fall league.
If you’re in the area and are looking for something different to do, please join us on Tuesday nights for our fun and family friendly league.
First Outdoor Movie Night of 2021!
We rocked the neighborhood tonight watching “Real Steel” and had a fun first movie night of the season.
Such a great heart-warming family movie full of action and humor, filling the night with laughter and cheers. I hope we didn’t bother the neighbors too much. 🙂
Right OnTrac
Another fine delivery from our friends at OnTrac.
I came home to find this little gift in my front yard, delivered by the ever vigilant OnTrac employee in his fancy U-Haul/OnTrac delivery van.
Wait a minute, could this be the same individual who was seen fleeing a few months ago when he heard our dog barking from the back yard?
I think so!
Cutest Easter Bunny Ever!
Yesterday we wrapped up our online Easter Basket auction and brought some joy to our community.
It was a good day!
Thank you to our wonderful community, Soroptimist members, Sue Graham of Oakhurst Giftworks for use of her front porch, and the best Easter Bunny ever, our daughter Ali. ??
Adding a Furby to the mix
Today we welcomed Skittles Jamal Pretzel Kit-Kat Goodbar Smartie Snack Shockley into our family.
While I’ve only had him for an hour he has become not only a three foot long rainbow furby, he has also become my son.
Special thanks to UnreasonableFurby on etsy for making this dream come true.
First Forks Burger of 2021!
I had a GREAT night with the family at The Forks Resort.
I’ve missed this. ??
OMG, Finally!!!
Hooray!!!!
My local gym is finally open!!!
I haven’t been able to hit the gym since July of last year. Although I tried my best to keep some sort of regiment at home, I failed miserably. Oh feeling the burn, the post workout pump and once again waking up to soar muscles is such a welcome change.
Can’t wait to get this neglected shell of a physique back in better shape, and drop some of these unwanted Covid pounds that have creeped up over this past year.
Marvel Heroes Thanos Earth-18138 6-Inch Pop!
Just when I thought that I had acquired every single Thanos “Funko Pop!” on the planet, they go and release this menace! Even though he’s not sporting his trademark infinity gauntlet, I knew I had to add this one to my collection.
To be honest, I didn’t know the back story on “Punisher Thanos” and had to look it up. Below is the information provided by Funko about this Pop!
From the pages of Cosmic Ghost Rider by Donny Cates and Dylan Burnett, The Rider, Frank Castle, travels back in time and kidnaps Thanos as a baby in attempt to raise him for good. Growing up by the Rider’s side on Earth, his father’s sense of justice becomes ingrained in him
This Previews Exclusive features Thanos in his Punisher getup, complete with a gun from his arsenal, and comes packaged in a window box.