15 Cars

While we were doing some paint scraping over the weekend I had my Chumby rocking some Pandora Radio and had the misfortune of a Nickleback song sneaking onto my 'Halestorm' channel. (A channel intended to be only rock bands with chick singers. I have a thing for rock chicks.) Some generic song about wanted to be a rock star, just with new lyrics regarding the specifics of what he'd have. 1 item was 15 cars, which naturally got me thinking about what I would actually have if I could get any 15 cars in the world. So here's my list. And these are what I would pick if I had to do everything I do in my normal life with only these 15 vehicles. A garage full of Murciélagos is awesome...until I have to go play hockey or buy a new table saw. Or snowboarding. Or commuting to work on the shitty roads I have to use. You get the point.
1) 911 Turbo Cabriolet. If you know me, you know I lust after these cars like nothing else. I would gladly trade 1/2 my liver for one. Maybe even a kidney.
2) 1966 Mustang Fastback (4-speed, 289 Hi-Po of course). This is really the only car I would give up an organ for.
(for ease I'm continuing my Mustang list here.)
3) 1970 Boss 429. Sure, the 302 is the better all-around car, but there's just something about driving around with 7.2L of old-school Detroit muscle under the hood.
4) ~1990 Mustang 5.0 The fox chassis 'stangs were great looking rides at the end of the run. And pretty much as easy as a lego set to modify.
5) Shelby Cobra. This is a great car built by a great man. Take a little European car and jam an American V8 under the hood. While the 289 version would be plenty, I’m going to have to go with the 427 (and no, not one that actually has the 428). Big-block V8 in a tiny roadster. That’s fun.
6) 1959 Corvette. Another pretty perfect car. Or maybe it's just that I'm a sucker for chrome in the doors. I remember getting a 'vette poster when we drove through Bowling Green, Kentucky and falling in love with the late 50’s cars.
7) 2010 Corvette ZR1. If I’m going to own a classic ‘vette, might as well get the latest and greatest. Especially when it’s really the only shining example of raw American muscle out there.
8) Lotus Exige. This would perfectly fill my commuting needs. Something nice a small to tear-ass around city streets with, fit into into parking spot, all without any excess space or weight. Just enough room for my, Tyler, and my work shit.
9) Subaru WRX STi. Cause I need some AWD hauling capabilities for snowboarding trips. Get the 5-door hatchback with a roof rack and some studless snow tires I’m good to go. It’d be like Pike’s Peak every time I go to the hill.
10) Hummer H1. Sometimes you just need a vehicle that can go anywhere, anytime. Like if I need to run out for more beer in the middle of a blizzard. Or if a bridge collapses and I need to shuttle orphans safely to the other side of a river while getting more beer.
11) Lamborghini Diablo Spyder. The Diablos were quite possibly my favorite Lambos out there. Neck-and-neck with the Countachs at the end of their run. 12 cylinders of Italian power and a no roof? It can’t get much better than that.
12) Lamborghini Countach. The car inspired the wedge-shaped supercar design, cab-forward design, and the dreams of any male growing up in the 80s and 90s.
13) 80s-era Bronco. Don’t need any specific year, just not white. I need something to haul lumber, sheetrock, plywood, power tools, etc, as well as something to mess with. I could finally put those hours watching “Trucks” to good use…maybe. Or just pull it out the 3 times a year I actually work on the house instead of just talking about it.
14) 1996 Nissan 300ZX. With t-tops and the turbo, naturally. I still remember seeing a commercial with the car zipping around roads in race-fashion and ending with just a single typewriter stroke of the letter “Z” on white paper. The cars were awesome, too.
15) Last, but certainly not least, 2010 Nissan 370Z. This is a car that is constantly right on the edge of serious consideration for me. I could afford it if I really wanted to, could probably fit my hockey gear in there if I had to, and could maybe sell Hayley on the idea if I distracted her with something shiny. It’s so tantalizingly close, and yet so far away.
So there you have it; my list of 15 cars. I think I did a solid job of covering all of my needs while picking up all of my dream cars. Are there cars I would have liked to include? Of course. But like I knew, 15 cars is a tough number to work with. It’s enough where you can start getting into your 2nd-tier of dream cars, but not enough to just start throwing the kitchen sink at your garage. Enough to get some that only fill specific roles (Bronco, STi, Hummer), but not enough to fill every role (Rolls Royce, Veyron, More Mustangs). Naturally, if I didn't have to live with only these 15 cars some different choices could be made. But I'm pretty happy with my list even with that restriction. This is a pretty impressive stable of horses.
Feel free to share your own list, or even just a partial list, in the comments. Not that anyone actually ever comments. But if you don't dream, you can't achieve a dream. Or something else lame like that.
PEACE!

Puppy Update

I've got an afternoon Cubs game on WGN to watch and Tyler is napping happily next to me, so this seems like a good time to post an update.
We've now had the little guy for 5 weeks and things really couldn't be going any better. He's had very few accidents in the house (knock on wood), loves going to daycare, and doesn't really chew anything besides his toys. Eats and drinks well and consistently gets a great bill of health and behavior from the vet.
We've got a bell by the back door for him to ring when he wants to go out and he's actually starting to get it. He knows that when we ring the bell it's time to go out, but he hasn't quite figured out how to ring it on his own to go out. I think he's bumped it a couple times, but not enough to really ring it. But it's only been a week or so with the bell, so he's actually picking it up very quickly.
I've also started working on some basic tricks. "Sit" and "come" being the first 2 that we're doing. Tough to tell if he's really getting it or not. He usually sits when he has to be in 1 spot for a long time, and will always come running if he sees you holding a treat. But this is how it does. Keep reinforcing the words with actions and eventually it becomes a habit. Soon I can start working on trickier things like getting me beer from the fridge and getting me beer from Gordon's. I figure if I get him a little cart, I can call in an order and my credit card # and have them load him up and cart it back.
So far daycare is going great. The people and facility at Tail Waggerz really couldn't be better. And I'm not just saying that because I know Robyn is going to be reading this. He gets lots of other dogs/puppies to play with and seems to love being there. He gets excited and runs to their gate every morning. Even better, Robyn often takes videos/pictures of him playing and texts them to me. Of course, a newer yellow lab puppy, Haley, has been a bit bitey with him. I've seen enough video to know he's not innocent in the situation. He starts plenty of shit on his own. And it's all part of puppies growing up. He needs to learn how to respond to play that's too rough just as she needs to learn not to be too rough.
Hmmm...this is pretty boring. But I really don't have anything fun or exciting yet. He's just the greatest puppy of all time. Handles stairs with no problems, loves to sit and chew his toys on his own when we're busy, sleeps through the nights, and is already housebroken. Now that summer is upon us and he's getting older we'll have some opportunities for hilarity. He's getting old enough to start taking walks and I know he won't be this well behaved for long. Soon enough he'll have the size and energy to start tearing up the house. He put on 8lbs in the first 4 weeks we had him (almost double!), so at this rate he'll be 25lbs by the end of July and over 30lbs before Labor Day. Should be a handful!
Speaking of putting on weight, it's time to get little man his dinner. That's one of the few things that'll break up a nap.
Hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!! Remember to shoot off plenty off fireworks!!
PEACE!