This pic has been spotted on philebrity.com and has at least one good comment.

The front end really dug itself in. Then the mud/water froze.

The stuck Jeep

Breaking ice from around the wheels

Posing with it

I went to some dirt trails yesterday. I thought they would be more like dirt roads, but I soon found out they were far from it. There were some hills and drop offs and tight turns and mud (most of it was frozen). I drove around for maybe 35 minutes then my front wheels fell into a deep muddy ice rut. I figured with 4 wheel drive that you can just pull out of anywhere. Not really. The wheels that had traction wouldnt move - while the wheels that had the least resistance were just spinning. Lame.

There is a product called a locker with goes into your axles to ‘lock’ the left and right wheels together for off roading. I dont have those and they are pretty expensive plus it wouldnt be very easy to install myself. I called Wade who lives nearby and who ultimatly told me about the trails. He came to get me out, but didnt want to break his truck and risk getting stuck as well. He called his friend with a huge lifted Land Cruiser on 37″ tires. It is at least a good foot taller than my Jeep. We hooked up a tow strap and it was unstuck in about a minute.

Yes, literally rubbish.  Upon reading The Guardian newspaper this evening (two days overdue, but I got there eventually).  I happened accross an article on waste disposal and recycling.  This caught my attention as someone who recycles now more than ever and also has a compost bin (which I attribute more to being in my thirties now).  Britain now has a major problem with waste going to landfill and we are being told that we need to address the issue asap, as opposed to some point in the distant future when it is no longer our or our governments problem.  Apparently, some sort of payment is gaining strong support, in the same vein as utility bills.  So what you dump you pay for.  Ok, this is only pertaining to household waste.  We are receiving a lot of pressure about household waste and to reduce, reuse and recycle, which I think we should all be personally responsible for, but levying taxes on households, who by this articles own admission only contributes 9% of the amount of waste going to landfill, I think is a bit rich really.  Only a passing mention of main contributors to landfill waste e.g building and demolition materials.  Again, the main supermarkets (who are the main contributors to household waste) are barely mentioned.  Surely, rather than levy more taxes on the household, why not campaign the supermarkets and main food distributers to produce less packaging on their foods?  We all know there is far too much.  Or would it be too much to ask that all of this packaging is made from biodegradable materials like many carrier bags these days, so then people like me can just chuck it in our composters.  If you want to address the problem of waste going to landfill, address the propogators of this mass waste industry and not the recipients.

I am sure everyone is sick of seeing or hearing about the Jeep. But I did some more work on it. This time I swapped out the Warrior 1.25″ lift shackles with some M.O.R.E. .75″ lift boomerang shackles. There are a couple of reasons I put shorter shackles on.

First : the lift shackles changes the angle of the front axle and it affects the steering, making it sloppy. Also when the steering is sloppy, it creates a thing called bump steer - thats when you hit a bump, the wheels turn towards the force of the bump… not super safe.

Second: the longer shackles put added stress on the springs. (stock length of the shackle is 4″ bolt-to-bol. The lift shackle is 6.5″ from bolt-to-bolt. To get 1″ of lift you need to lengthen your shackle by 2″. Anyways, the added stress on the springs also does not allow them to flex properly making small bumps very rough to the passengers.

Basiclly I put the shorter stronger shackles on the Jeep to give a softer ride. The downside is that I lost a little less than an inch of lift.

Here is the old shackle:

Here is the new shackle:

Look again. It was a question not a statement. Actually, in the run for the 08 US presidency it excites me that she is going for it.  Sure, Im a Brit and I don’t have a say..and nor would I probably vote for her anyway. But, I’m glad she is going for it.  Does she have a chance?

Who is she? The first former First Lady to go on to hold elected office, she is now serving as senator for New York. Declared her intention to stand with an “I’m in” note on her website on 20 January.

Hillary Clinton

Why take her seriously? Unbeatable name recognition and unmatched fundraising ability make Hillary - no surname necessary - the clear front-runner for the Democrats. She has tried to stake out a position as a centrist in her six years in the Senate - and finished her 2006 Senate re-election campaign with $20m in the bank.

What is going to stand in her way? If Bill Clinton remains a divisive figure in American politics, that goes at least double for Hillary - some estimates say one in three Americans would never vote for her. And the US has never yet elected a woman president.

What would happen if a female won?

 

Back in the Stone Age, the average meat-eater was slimmer and trimmer than the average meat-eater today. Before there were QFCs and Safeways, cavemen and cavewomen couldn’t just stroll into the meat department at the supermarket to pick up a choice cut. No, Mr. and Mrs. Caveman had to CATCH something, KILL IT, and COOK IT before they could sit down and EAT IT! Mr. and Mrs. Caveman were fit because going out for dinner meant chasing large animals around savannas, or stalking small animals through the bush. All this chasing and stalking burned more calories before a single meal than most modern carnivores burn in a week at the gym.Mr. and Mrs. Caveman wouldn’t know what to make of modern carnivores going out for dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Modern Carnivore sit on their fat, greasy asses in dimly lit restaurants, ordering cuts from animals most couldn’t pick out of a lineup, let alone pick off with a spear. In addition to being fatter and lazier than Mr. and Mrs. Caveman, Mr. and Mrs. Modern Carnivore are also keenly hypocritical, keeping some animals as pets, while happily sending other animals off to be slaughtered by poorly paid illegal immigrants.But just because you live in an urban area doesn’t mean you can’t know the calorie-burning joy and satisfaction of CATCHING IT, KILLING IT, and COOKING IT before EATING IT. Forget that step class, Mr. Modern Carnivore! Get off that treadmill, Mrs. Modern Carnivore! And throw away that Thighmaster!  Just follow our four easy steps — CATCH, KILL, COOK, EAT — and you’ll quickly connect with your inner caveman or cavewoman while staying effortlessly slim and trim. Have a good workout, and… bon appétit!

CATCH: Dog? Anywhere. Hundreds of the little buggers!

KILL: Depending on the size of the dog, you can wring its neck, shoot it through the head, or run over it with a van. Drain its blood and dismember.

COOK: Dog, a popular dish in China, is very versatile. To stir-fry dog, heat a small amount of oil in a wok. Cut dog into small cubes, then place in wok and brown evenly. When dog is brown, add chopped broccoli, snap peas, carrots, and soy sauce. Cover and let steam.

EAT: Serve with rice wine. Delicious!

Waste some time looking at the crap I have bothered my English backside to bring you.  You may like it.  If so, enjoy. If not….tough. Im really negative today. Perhaps I need a hug.

Oh. And depending on which sorry establishment you drag your mortal shell to and earn meagre notes and coinage from….it may not be safe for work. Either way…I don’t care. 

 Enjoy.

POWER POINT PRESENTATION.WOOT!