My first vinyl record – “Camaro” and “SS 396”

Posted on by

Vinyl: def:

1. synthetic plastic material made from polymerized resin, group of organic compounds: the univalent chemical radical CH2CH, derived from ethylene.

2. The stuff my childhood was made of.

When I was a kid, a stack of 33’s and 45’s would keep me happy, quiet and very entertained all day. I remember I had a pretty decent record collection, but in all the years that passed I had lost track of them and eventually assumed they were lost along the way. Just recently I opened a Seward Trunk as part of Project 14 and found a small treasure trove of vinyl records inside.

So now, with a new toy I just got from Ion Audio, I’m converting everything I found and will be posting them here. I’m not very familiar with vinyl audio correction and/or pop and hiss removal, so what you hear is what the vinyl record actually sounds like.

This first record is a 45 from my early early early childhood. And actually, it wasn’t even originally mine. It was part of my mother’s record collection that she had left at my grandparent’s home for safekeeping. Of course, I found the record collection stash in their home. And of course, I did what any 3 year old kid would do when he finds something he wants… I asked my grandparents if I could have it!

For some reason, I think that’s going to come back and bite me in a few years.

Anyhow, this record is part of “Columbia Special Productions” and was “Created Exclusively for Chevrolet Dealers”. The song on the first side is “Camaro” and is performed by The Cyrkle (there’s a second information link about The Cyrkle here). You can see in the photo below the details on the record.

Camaro Side A

Camaro Side A

The song on the second side is “SS 396” and is performed by Paul Revere and the Raiders. I was always partial to that song on the record.

The 45 survived just fine in the Seward Trunk, despite no paper cover or heavy cardboard enclosure.

Camaro Side B

Camaro Side B

Click below to listen to the first song, “Camaro” by The Cyrkle.

[audio:01 Camaro.mp3]

The next audio link is the second song, “SS 396” by Paul Revere and the Raiders. There’s a small hiccup in one of the refrains… that’s because when I was 5 years old I dinged the record enough to make a skip on it. Through sheer vinyl wizardry that’s been long lost to the ages, someone in my family knew of a way to scratch a record needle through a skip so that from then on the record would play onward.

[audio:02 SS 396.mp3]

I couldn’t find any lyrics to “Camaro” and I’m not about to guess what they’re really saying. But I did find the lyrics to the “SS 396” track…

Forget about your Hemi’s and your GTO’s

I’ve got a new machine, and she really gos.

When I pass you up on the drag strip you’ll know darn well

You’ve been beat by a porcupine V8 Chevelle

Taching it up now, you better be quick

Cus’ nothing can outrun my SS 396.

There’s lots of chrome goodies sitting under the hood

She looks real pretty, like a tough one should.

On the redline tires, she sits real mean

She’s the coolest hot one… you’ve ever seen

Crusing the highways, getting my kicks

Everyone’s checking out my SS 396

Look at her go (look at her go)

She sits real low (she sits real low)

Dealer tires grip the road

Her deep breathing fours (deep breathing fours)

And they’ll never settle short (never settle short)

Feel the rear end grab the load

 Take you for a ride man, it’s really a treat

Strap yourself into a bucket seat.

The four speed tranny is starting to whine

You’ll know about the Super Sport

Once we get off the line

Crusing the highway, getting my kicks

Nothing can match my…SS 396

Look at her go (look at her go)

She sits real low (she sits real low)

Dealer tires grip the road

Her deep breathing fours (deep breathing fours)

And they’ll never settle short (never settle short)

Feel the rear end grab the load

Take you for a ride man, it’s really a treat

Strap yourself into a bucket seat.

The four speed tranny is starting to whine

You’ll know about the Super Sport

Once we get off the line

Nothing can match my…SS396

SS 396

SS 396

SS 396

SS 396

No ebay for this record! I just have to find a really good hiding place for it now.

The 12 days of Whataburger…

Posted on by

If you’re lucky enough to be in Texas, there’s still time to sign up for the 12 days of Whataburger at the official 12 days of Whataburger site. You’ll get 12 coupons emailed to you over the next 12 days for free food and free Whataburger items. Free is a pretty good deal in my opinion.

The first coupon is already out. Its a “CELEBRATE WITH A FREE MEDIUM FRENCH FRIES!” coupon that’s only valid on December 2nd. You can get it by clicking here.

I found out that the second coupon will be “CELEBRATE WITH A FREE TAQUITO!” that’s only valid on December 4th. You can get that one by clicking here.

I also found the third coupon, and it’s the last one they seem to have posted right now. It’s a “CELEBRATE WITH A FREE FRIED PIE!” that’s only valid December 6th. You can get that one by clicking here.

I’ve been told the closest thing to Whataburger up North is something called In-N-Out. Sorry, but In-N-Out ain’t no Whataburger in my opinion. If you are not from Texas and you haven’t had a Whataburger, you really need to put it on your to-do list for the next time you’re here.

Oh, and late late night or early early morning Taquitos from Whataburger are all kinds of wonderful goodness. With cheese. And don’t forget to ask for the picante.

Recall : La Espiga de Oro – Fiesta brand Flour Burrito Tortillas

Posted on by

This recall only affects Houston, Texas. The rest of ya’ll can mosey on by this one.

Today, La Espiga de Oro is recalling their 12 count Fiesta brand Flour Burrito Tortillas because they apparently contain undeclared whey. Little Miss Muffet is not pleased.

“The product was distributed through Fiesta Marts in Houston, Texas in plastic wrap packages labeled Fiesta 12 Flour Burrito Tortillas. The packages have the UPC code 51022 00060, and the recall includes tortilla packages labeled with a date of November 30, 2009 through December 20, 2009.”

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

Recall : Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat food

Posted on by

Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat food has been recalled because they both have the potential to produce Thiamine Deficiency in cats. 21 cases have already been reported about this, and for cats, Thiamine Deficiency is really bad news.

According to the recall article, “….symptoms of deficiency displayed by an affected cat can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. At the first stage the cat may show decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. Later, neurologic signs can develop, which may include ventriflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures. These ultimately may result in the death of the animal if left untreated.”

“The affected products were distributed in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, [and] Florida.”

“The affected date codes were RAF0501A22X 18lb. (BB28NOV10), RAF0501A2X 6 lb. (BB28NOV10), RAF0802B12X 18lb (BB30FEB11), RAH0501A22X 18 lb. (BB28NOV10), RAH0501A2X 6lb. (BB28NOV10, BB30NOV10, BB08DEC10)”

If you have any of these products, you should probably take your cat to the vet for a checkup even if they aren’t showing any signs yet.

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall notice.

Tiger Woods and the Police

Posted on by

I just saw an article on CNN about Tiger Woods. Apparently Tiger Woods got into a car crash this weekend in his neighborhood. Fortunately nobody was hurt and nobody else was involved. The only damage done in this accident is to Tiger Wood’s car and apparently a fire hydrant that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Tiger Woods gave his insurance information and license to the police, and then went back to his home and hasn’t talked to the police since.

None of this should have made it past the fifth link in the sports section, but of course, Cartoon Network News thinks this is a front page issue! And they’re actively trying to make it an issue by talking to themselves. Check out this quote from the CNN article…

“CNN: Can the police do anything about it if Woods continues to refuse to talk to them?

Toobin (Cartoon Network News’ current “senior legal analyst”): The police don’t have a lot of options. If someone doesn’t want to talk to you, you as a police officer can’t do anything about it.”

Hey CNN. You need to quit talking to yourselves. Because this is exactly how it’s supposed to work! The 5th amendment. The idea someone is “innocent until proven guilty”. Moving some things through a civil court as opposed to a criminal court. Crazy country, huh?

If Tiger Woods wants to drive into his car into his swimming pool so he can learn how to scuba dive in a Lexus, he can do that. If Tiger Woods wants to roast some marshmallows on his property with a brand new BMW that’s on fire, he can do that. If he has a lawnmower that needs a 12 gauge buckshot overhaul, he can do that too. As long as no one is hurt or under threat of becoming hurt and some other person’s private property is not damaged or under threat of becoming damaged, the police don’t need to get involved.

Since this happened in a public location, though, the police had to get involved. Fortunately since no one else was hurt and no one’s personal property was damaged, the police only needed to make a traffic report. Tiger Woods submitted what he was required to under the state law for this traffic report, so that should have been the end of it. The police can now hand this over to the city and any interested insurance companies since this is no longer a criminal matter in any way. Done. End of story.

The police have thousands of better things to do than follow up on this non-criminal issue, and I hope the police chief in the area has the stones to tell the media just that. CNN is inflaming non-issues to give facetime to idiots.

Cartoon Network News’ real motivation is painfully clear with their closing statement…

“CNN: A story in last week’s National Enquirer alleged that Woods has been seeing a New York night club hostess. The woman has denied any affair with Woods to The Associated Press. She’s also apparently retained attorney Gloria Allred.”

Hey CNN. Quit that. The National Enquirer and the Globe are far better at this kind of “journalism” than you are.

May contain small stones

Posted on by

So there I was at a restaurant this weekend with my wife and in-laws when I came across this little item on the menu…

Small stone menu item

Small stone menu item

The photo is poor quality because it came from my iPhone, but there is a double asterisk by the item TRIPITAS and a definition underneath saying “please note that TRIPITAS in rare occasions may contain small stones.”

For future reference, Tripitas are “the small intestines of farm animals that have been cleaned, boiled and grilled.”

I did not know that.

We all had Fajitas and cheese enchiladas.

Flight 188 update – transcripts are now available

Posted on by

Over the weekend, the FAA released the recordings and transcripts of conversations between ATC and the pilots of Flight 188. The gist of the whole conversation(s) can be summed up in one sentence…

“Ah [just] cockpit distraction, that’s all I can say,” is the [pilot’s] response.

Wow. 144 passengers onboard, and an hour and a half with zero ground contact, speeding along at Mach 0.78 35,000 feet over and 150 miles past the Minnesota airport and “we were distracted” was the best they could come up with? And they want their licenses back??

Minnesota ATC did have the pilots confirm through directed maneuvers that they were actually in control of the plane and did allow them to come back and land at the airport without escort though. Personally, I would have made them wait in a holding pattern until they were properly flanked and escorted down by the military on a secure runway and had everyone sifted on a restricted tarmac.

Here’s the link to the CNN article on the pilot’s comments and the FAA and ATC conversations.

Here’s a link to the FAA transcript of ATC trying to contact Flight 188 [NOTE : PDF file].

Here’s the cross-link to my rant and diagrams on how bad Flight 188 was really off.

Thanksgiving Break

Posted on by

I’m taking an extended Thanksgiving vacation until Monday! Between the self-induced turkey-comas and ODing on fresh pecan pie, enjoying spending time with my wife, and actually having time to unpack, I’ll be plenty busy for the next few days.

Until then, I have this to submit…

Happy Cow

Happy Cow

I saw this in the parking lot of Sams recently. That cow is pretty happy for being where he is!

Recall : Class 1 : Operating Room System II Surgical Navigation Systems

Posted on by

Another major class one recall has been issued by the FDA. This one involves a “computer aided surgery platform that surgeons can use to perform Hip, Knee, Spine, Neuro and ENT surgical procedures.”

Designed by Stryker Corporation, the company announced today that it is initiating… “a worldwide, Class 1 recall of 23 Operating Room System II Surgical Navigation Systems because there is a potential for the navigation PC SPC-1 component to stop working which could result in the screen freezing, the system updating at a slow rate, or not responding at all.”

The items being recalled are…

* Navigation System II-Cart with Stryker Catalog Number 7700-100-000 and Serial #s 100715-100735

* PC SPC-1 Assembly with Stryker Catalog Number 7700-101-201 and Lot # K7P00F6000

Normally, if a computer locks up on you, you’ve usually lost whatever you were working on. But when a computer is an integral part of a surgical procedure, you really don’t want to lose the last thing you were working on. According to the press release, “the potential harms associated with this failure are: delay in surgery, reschedule of the procedure resulting in an additional surgery, risk of infection, increased morbidity, potential neurological deficits, or injury due to the surgeon operating in an area where they did not intend to operate. Depending on the type of surgery, these failures could potentially lead to serious adverse health consequences, including death.”

So a five minute reboot during something like a posterior lumbar interbody fusion would be really, really bad.

But this is a release that is mostly for those customers Stryker that has not been able to reach. According to the press release,  Stryker already told everyone who had one of these items that a repair is on the way and… “as of October 30, 2009 all domestic units have been repaired.”

But if you do have a Stryker unit, you should check to be sure that it doesn’t fall into the recall category and/or has already been repaired. If not, you can call Stryker Instruments at 1-800-253-3210.

Here’s the link to the FDA recall.