Way back in the 90s I inherited a Graflex 4x5 press camera from my future wife’s late father. Her family was going to throw it away before I saw it and its suitcase in their family’s basement.

If you are a fan of the Godfather, you will recognize a Graflex from the wedding scene. If you are a Star Wars fan, the Graflex flash bulb battery pack was used as a lightsaber.
It is a great camera and it is fun to use, but time has made it difficult to use. I did find a Polaroid back that allowed me to use out dated Polaroid film that is no longer being made. For a while, I was even able to find flash bulbs on Ebay.

My wife and I used to visit country fairs and dirt race tracks pulling a small red wagon of film cartridges, flash bulbs and snapping cool photos.

In 2004 my wife and I made an impromptu visit to Ypsilanti Michigan’s Yankee Air-Museum. The air museum has a wonderful collection of vintage aircraft and war memorabilia. My plan was to take some photos of the wonderful planes using both my new digital camera and the vintage Graflex.

That was my plan. While I had usually kept my Graflex suitcase in the trunk of my car. I never kept flash bulbs in my car. I always kept my flash bulbs in a steel box on the concrete floor of my studio to prevent static electric discharge. Alas, we arrived at the Air-Museum prepared to take only outdoor shots with the Graflex and indoor digital shots.

Outdoors, I went plane to plane. Indoors I took some action digital shots with my wife. It was while I was taking my wife’s photo standing next to a B-17, a veteran walked up asking about the Graflex in my wagon. I told him that couldn’t use it indoors because I forgot my flash bulbs.

“We have cases of flash bulbs upstairs, I’ll get you some” He chirped

He disappeared and came back with 2 small ancient boxes of 12 flash bulbs. I shook his hand, thanking him. I used every bulb he gave me shooting indoor shots. It was a fun Saturday.

Exactly one week later, the Yankee Air Museum burnt to the ground. Late at night I tell myself the fire was not started by a case of 50 year old flash bulbs falling off a shelf. All the news articles state that the fire did start near the ceiling, but the guys were welding that day. Regardless, using the Graflex wasn’t as much fun after that Saturday. I still have the camera packed away, but I have safely disposed of all the flash bulbs.

https://www.wemu.org/wemu-news/2014-10-08/10-years-after-the-yankee-air-museum-hangar-fire

October of 1984 my dad asked if I wanted a Leather Jacket for Christmas. He said he remembered getting one when he was 16 and thought I would like one too. I said that would be great!
Mom and dad took me to the Westland Mall. There were 3 leather stores at the mall, one of which was a Wilson's Leather. Dad saw a few 99$ jackets in the Wilson's, but I thought they looked like cheap crap. Against my father's taste in leather, I wanted a biker jacket. Dad would say "NO" to any biker jackets. Dad wanted me to have a simple jacket like the one he had as a kid and still had.
We compromised.
At another leather store, I picked out a jacket that fit both our tastes.
Mom and dad purchased my first leather and gave it to me on Christmas morn of 1984.

I had 2 Cadillacs before my 18th birthday, a 1971 and a 1975.

My girlfriend at the time, sewed those patches on.



My junior year of highschool, they implemented a parking sticker rule. I was denied. SO I made a fake sticker and it worked for half the year. I got suspended when I got caught. Bastards ended up giving my a real pass when I got a job at a plastics factory that gave me class credits.

Excuse me as I powder myself with the ashes of my youth.

nothing like walking into a stranger's house and calling it a shit-hole that needs a new coat of paint and new furniture

@Long_Voyager94 It is an exciting time we live in.

When I started writing about my life, I promised that I would never speak of my children. My wife and I have raised our children outside of the glaring spotlight of my art career and would never willingly submit them to the burning heat of its spotlight.

The anniversary of our marriage is coming up soon.

My wife reminded me of this today as we were heading home, walking up a steep hill after enjoying a well-earned afternoon of liquor at dog beach. With our 12 year old dog's leash in one hand and about 4 pounds of dog shit wrapped in a plastic Wal-Mart bag in the other.
I asked "What day is that? September 13th?".

She remained silent.

For about a third of a second, I thought that I was gonna catch hell for not remembering our wedding date.
"September 18th?" I blurted out.
She still remained silent.

"September 28th?", I asked. She remained silent and I knew the jig was up. She had no fucking idea when we were married. I had no idea either but that was not the point.
"You don't know when we were married, do you?", I asked her.

"Well, it was at the end of September I think", she said.

Our wedding day is like my wedding ring. Lost in the sands of time. Yep, I have no fucking idea where I put my wedding ring. I used to leave it in the empty ashtray of my 1992 Chevy Caprice, but I haven't driven that car since 1999 and I donated it to 1-800-KARS 4KIDS in 2011.

Oh well, I don't hate my wife for not remembering when our wedding anniversary is.
Nope, not at all.
Because it really doesn't matter, every night is still like our wedding night. She is usually found naked and throwing up in the bathroom while I still can't seem to maintain an erection. It's all good.

A little while ago I posted my wife's picks for a new car.
https://opposite-lock.com/topic/57462/oppoafterdark-a-day-of-car-shopping/15
Well, she made her pick and we scoured every dealer from Poughkeepsie to Syracuse. She found one that had the car she wanted.
So, on Saturday we made the drive to the shit hole that is Utica New York.
Behold the 2022 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands Edition!

My wife won't let me drive her new car, so let us start the review on the car that I can drive. Behold the 2017 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Edition!

From the front, the Renegade has playfully robust design features that the bright red tow hook can attest too.

The smart choice of wheel size and placement on the Renegade ensures ride clearance on rough terrain.

The Trail Rated badge lets everyone know that you are a serious 4x4 off-roader.

The interior sports the luxury of fully adjustable leather seats. My wife likes to feel as if she is 'Driving at the Kitchen Table' and this Jeep delivers as it is almost impossible to drive this Jeep with the seats fully dropped back.

While the seats are comfortable, I have noticed that on long trips extending over 3 hours, the seats have a tendency to slowly revert back to their factory standard position.
This Renegade has a fully automatic Italian 8 speed gearbox. It also includes a feature that allows one to drive the Jeep as if it were a manual. This feature comes in handy when one is driving to the city and someone jams a purse up against the shift knob, causing it to shift into a lower gear on the freeway. The car will let you know you did this by flashing a dash light, entering 'Limp Home Mode' and resolves itself after parking for 30 minutes. Those crafty Italians!
Entering full 4x4 mode is fun and easy with large dials and buttons that even the daintiest hands can opperate.

The large 9 inch (same as a Mac Plus) Info-Tainment touch screen is bright and rugged.

I have found that the entire Info-Tainment console has a tendance to freeze randomly for no reason, leaving you stuck on one Sirus-Xm station until you pull over and stop the car for 20 minutes.
The Renegade offers a plethora of storage options and includes a hidden full sized spare and fold down rear seats.

Powered by a peppy 2.4 L engine based on designs drawn by Enzo Ferrari's gardener, the Renegade has power enough for freeway driving or rampaging through the streets of Detroit.


Quirky design features and hidden Jeep graphics will have you entertained trying to find them on long trips when your radio is frozen.


A smart feature for the environmentally minded is the Renegade's ability to collect and store a years' worth of leaves and acorns securely for future use.


Smart indeed.
Overall, if one excludes the Italian Transmission that doesn't handle driving up hill very well at all and the cheap hard plastic interior, the Jeep Renegade is a comfortable little truck that will never leave you stuck in the snow or mud.
Our family has placed over 88k on ours without any major mechanical issues and I would recommend a Renegade as a 'First Car' for any youngin'.

@Taylor-Martin When meeting strange wimin in a parking lot, Tell a joke and get them to smile, so you can see how many teeth they have. No need to thank me for my tip, juss passin' it on dawg

Dual citizenship between upstate NY and the coast of Lake Michigan

New York was built in the 50s by an engineer for GE. Funky mid-century modern vibe.

Second just had a 3 year (alot of waiting) to the studs reno.
Before...

After..

gotta love that mid century modern vibe

OK, not that NSFW. But it's funny. Sorry if it's been posted before.

Let's all simmer down, I'm new here too and Oppo can be a little hard to navigate and for the yungins who need to be looked at it can feel a little cold without the warm spot light. That being said, lets see if Jerry bird can make things all better.

@Spaceball-Two very nice work and very nice photos!!!!

@ttyymmnn

@іди-на-хуй-Влад-formerly-known-as-Distraxi said in More Brooklands..The leaks continue. It's Bike Day!:

Chopper! All the cool kids had those when I was seven, while I had to make do with an ignominious Raleigh 20.

My older brother had one and it was such a death trap, my parents forbid the bike from being passed down to me. I had to make due with a blue sparkly Schwin

@Cé-hé-sin said in More Brooklands..The leaks continue. It's Bike Day!:

@ttyymmnn

It is said that she refused to marry her fiancé unless he did likewise.

Might not be true but it should be!

That is true, wife and I saw it in the museum.
My wife remined me that she had the same tough standards. Except it was wearing pants in public and learning to wipe properly.

Die-Cast ToyPorn helps me find my pants every time.
"Flooded it and the tide is coming in"

A wonderful collection of bikes. The parts of the track that are still up (The turns look like a shear wall) look pretty thumpy. From what I gather, the track was always pretty rough. I can't imagine riding a bike at 100mph. Brass balls indeed.

So, the mechanics asked for help opening the bonnet. They promised to fire the car up but after messing with it for over an hour, they gave up.

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@415s30 I still have not been able to watch the video...

Mclaren had a great display at Brooklands. The life sized Lego was epic.