Joe Handley

To be honest, I'm happy to not only be out working at a hobby shop, but out or retail in general. Dave and Dave are right too, it's not what it used to be in general and I even told a friend and former coworker (who's also named Dabe, oddly enough!) that I have no interest in getting back on the other side of the counter again. I do try to shop local, no matter what unless it's convenience related like distance to place order would be made (I don't shop at my old employer and the next closest one ain't too close), I need it sooner than I could order and pick it up locally ( especially with Mom's medical issues ATM), or I just can't buy it locally.

We were having the "Hospice Talk" again, but now that things are working again, things are looking better!

Mom's kidneys have started working again, finally, and her swelling is finally going down.

I' had been in retail 24 years and spent the last 13 months in a call center, very true, and I swear the more money some people have, the worse they are.

Start expandimg solar and wind power, especially when attached to the house (which would help combat price gauging), and expand natural gas use, coal use should fall off even further than it has. If everybody charges at night from the grid, the load is not going to be as bad as doing the same during the day, which will help during any transition period. Lithium batteries are recycleable and when I was still at the hobby shop, we had somebody who recycled anything but alkline batteries, yet all it cost us was counterspace until the box was full and had to go back to the recycler. As far as who might hang out in charging stations, you can get mugged or annoyed by a panhandler just as easy at a gas station(been there for the latter), plus it does offer a chance for dining and/or retail at those places while the vehicles are charging.

Is that the movie that had Naomi Judd in it? I seem to remember Mom watching it but never paid enough attention to notice the models.

Got a random text from a friend as I was heading over to Sam's Club wanting to know if I was interested in the unfinished '97-'01 XJ Cherokee body from the Axial SCX10-2 he picked up recently, said sure and he just met me at Sam's and gave it to me for FREE!

Aaaaaaand I woke up to find a Michaels ad with a 50% off coupon in it, guess I know where I'm going shortly! k

Maybe I need to pick up a second the next time I'm at Michael's or HL with one of their coupons and try my hand at chopping one of these now too!

Two new ones, had lunch at the St Charles Portillos the other day and when I left, this was parked next to my 200. It's a a Zero DS Electric Dual Sport bike! Apparently the current model has 125mile range and accellerates like a very healthy sport bike! Then I saw this yhe next night after work heading back out to Winfield to visit Mom at CDH and saw a very rare sight, what appears to be a 2dr, 2wd, barn door Tahoe! This generation Tahoe/Blazer aren't common as 4wd with a tail and lift gate, let alone in 2wd with Suburbans style Barn Doors. Kinda digging the drop and late model wheels too.

Thanks Mark, I did grab the kit when I got home from visiting Mom at the hospital that night and chassis wise, it is very close and ot looks like I just need to do a little trimming on the fenderless pan and maybe a bit on the body too. Think I might just forego an interior and just black out the windows since the openings are so tiny and I'd have to cut the interior tub down to clear as well, I'll probably just get rid of it and go slammer.

Saw this heading over to visit Mom at the hospital after work tonight, for some reason it was up here in Winfield from Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet tonight?!

The new body showed up on Thursday!

Has anybody tried to put Jimmy Flintstone NB148 Track-Nose '34 3 Window Coupe body on the Revell Snap Fast '34 3 Window Coupe chassis? Picked one of those bodies today and have a botched '34 snapper at home for chassis and interior donor amd would like to combine the two.

I'd rather have an XJ Cherokee, but considering we have had 5 between my Dad , Kid Sister, and Myself, I am biased.

Think I was going to troll like that, it would have to be called General Sherman.

Little over a month ago I had to go to the doctor to have some long term swelling and a possible wound checked out on my right leg and initially her office ordered these special bandages for the wound until they could wrap my leg to try and keep the swelling down as well as get the wound to close up. I received the box of bandages about mid August with an invoice but no billing. At the time I figured that my insurance had covered it as I had never received any bill for a co-pay. Well, I used about 6 of these bandages and have had my leg wrapped multiple times, plus lots of meds to control water retention swelling and any infection with the expected co-pays. Suddenly on 9/11 I received a letter from the company that provided the bandages showing that my insurer cover not quite 1/2 the cost. I waited until payday and mailed in what I owed on 9/16 (my 41st birthday) and when I got home from running errands and getting some lunch before going to visit Mom at the hospital, there was another bill from them in the mail box. I thought that seemed pretty quick for a second one and just put the my part of bill#1 in the envelope with bill#2 and left them on the table. I get home from visiting Mom on 9/18 and there is bill#3 from them that my Sister tossed on the steps going upstairs when she got home from work that night?! Now for those who are keeping score, that is 3 bills in 7 days from one company for the same items, at this rate, I'm hoping they won't have me going to collections before that check I mailed arrives!

That was kind of depressing news, I worked at the one that was in St. Charles, IL from fall of '96-fall of '01.

I sent a message to R2 after I got home from the hospital last night and got an email back this morning, they'll be sending a new body for my Ecto-1a kit.

That is a nice looking car, but I agree on the colors. To me, brown and beige tend to be the colors of throw away appliance cars that are cruising 5-10mph below the limit while blocking traffic. If those are the factory colors and/or the paint is decent with an immediate repaint that isn't in the foreseable future, look at Dip-Your-Car. They offer colors that would be perfect on cars like this and, so long as it is correctly applied, and will peel off when you no longer need it, plus will protect the original finish. Some of the best parts of it is that if you need to start from scratch, they sell full kits with everything you need at a way cheaper price than it would cost for MAACO to do the work with less flashy paint finishes and if you feel like a color change, you just have to make sure the car is cleaned to what is preferred to apply, mask the car off, then start putting the new color(s) down, no wet sanding, scuffing compatability issues, ect, just make sure the car is cleaned to their specs and start mixing and shooting. A buddy of mine is doing rust repair on his gunmetal grey '07 or '08 regular cab/short bed Silverado (that looks like it is getting nearly as rusty as my '98 Cherokee) and is planning on putting their Slate Blue on it with their Glossifier top coat, and paid about $400 for the DIY kit, which included the sprayer. Cost will depend on the dip purchased, with some of the wilder pearls and flips costing more, but still being stupidly cheap compared to real paint, especially something comparable.

I may need a receipt and I need to check if the store stuck one for the exchange in the bag.........which is 5 floors down in the parking garage of the local hospital where my 200 is currently parked. Mom is back in there again and I brought it up to the room in a different bag with me when I got here.

Thanks guys, that's what I was thinking of doing, I was just hoping for something a bit easier and quicker. I had wondered about getting a second one and maybe chopping the top a wee bit then using a section of roof from a second body to stretch that and patch that hole at the same time. I also have a couple Revell '59 Eldo coupes with crushed roof pillars, will the grill and bumpers fit these bodies?

Any recommendations on how to fix this short shot or should I just email R2? It's the AMT Ecto-1a kit and the store I aquired it from (got a KITT and General Lee glue kits for my birthday and I returned the GL) and it's a bit of a haul to get their.

Any recommendations on how to fix this short shot or should I just email R2? It's the AMT Ecto-1a kit and the store I aquired it from (got a KITT and General Lee glue kits for my birthday and I returned the GL) and it's a bit of a haul to get their.

Had this for a night while my 200 was getting a little recall work done. Drove ok and was way quicker than I ever expected a 4500lbs van to be.......well, at least compared to all the vans I've driven over the years! Got a laugh out of the infographic for when you turn the Traction Control on and off too.