04. A DeLorean DMC-12
Oh, come on. You knew I had to include this. Who doesn't want one of these things?
The DMC-12 was featured in a certain series of time-travel comedies and has since become something of an icon. It was only in production from 1981-1983, since DeLorean Motor Company went bankrupt after the arrest of its founder. Thus, the number of cars that still exist is relatively small, estimated to be somewhere around 6500.
This is one of the most unique cars I've ever seen. Instead of being primed and painted, it's plated with stainless steel. Apparently, some owners have painted their DeLoreans; I personally would never do this, since I think it really takes away from the value and charm of the car.
It also has those distinctive gullwing doors. As a kid, I thought they were the coolest thing ever (which led to a short-lived obsession with Lamborghinis). I still think they're pretty damn cool, but I have to wonder about something: Do DeLorean owners have to park on the outskirts of parking lots to be able to open the door and get out of the car?
Only three times have I ever seen a DeLorean in real life. The first time, I saw one speeding down the interstate and had to suppress the overwhelming urge to stalk it. The second time, I saw one sitting at a car lot/garage as I passed by. (The next time I drove by there, it was gone.)
The third time was two nights ago. I'm staying with a friend while waiting to move into an apartment, and I was just hanging around when my friend comes inside talking about something awesome he just saw. Naturally, I had to go outside to find out what was going on. Well, the neighbors had a DMC-12 sitting in their driveway, which is fucking amazing enough as is. But it wasn't just any DMC-12-- it was decked out to look just like the time machine from Back to the Future. It was all lit up and had the wires, cables, flux capacitor, the whole nine yards. It even had sound clips from the movie playing through its speakers.
As you might expect, I had a nerdfit and did a really stupid happydance after inspecting it thoroughly. I'm still kicking myself in the ass for not asking the guy if I could take a picture of it. Of course, it's gone now. Damn it.
I've heard that the car is going back into limited production next year. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, I'm so getting one when I get 50,000 dollars to spare.
05. A Big Ugly Dish System
...Also known as "television receive-only". Surely you guys have seen a ten-foot satellite dish sitting in someone's yard before. That's what I'm talking about. Satellite TV, 80s-style.
Why do I want one of these when I could just get one of those modern, much smaller dishes? Mostly to fulfill an old childhood desire.
When I was a kid, my family spent a lot of time at Uncle Sonny and Aunt Ruby's house. (They weren't really my aunt and uncle-- more like my mom's cousins or something like that.) They lived in a rural area, and since you couldn't get cable out there, Uncle Sonny had a big ugly dish. Since I was just a little bitty thing, and BUD systems are kind of complicated, I was never allowed to mess with it.
Back before we had cable, the idea of getting TV from places other than Oklahoma City boggled my little mind. I really wanted to see what kinds of new and interesting channels I could find, and if there were any cartoons on them. My dad said Uncle Sonny could get channels from all over the planet, which even now, sounds fascinating.
Anyway, I never got my hands on that dish-controller-box contraption. In the 90s, Uncle Sonny left his big dish in the dust and got Primestar-- a newfangled satellite service that used a much smaller dish --instead.
Unfortunately, TVRO is pretty obscure now thanks to stuff like Dish Network and DirecTV, which makes me a little sad. This makes it something of a waste for me to ever try getting one set up, not to mention I'm no electronics hobbyist, and would have to pay somebody some serious bucks to set it up for me. I don't like TV that much. But if I ever have large amounts of money lying around, and no better use for it, I'd go for it.
3 comments:
My grandpa still has a big, honking satellite dish out in his backyard. It's covered in vines, and it looks really ancient.
Yeah! We had a dish like that at one time. Wild feed, anyone? You just can't find TV with long periods of "insert commercial here" blackouts anymore. lol
The DMC-12...ahh...let the nerdiness flow. That was an awesome car to look at the other day. Maybe you will see the dude cruising around Norman in it.
As for the dish, I never got to watch BUD so I guess I can't hold as much nostalgia for it.
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