10||0|1192|0| 0|0|0|||1||Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|Peter Eng||22:05:28|08/19/2021|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jan-26-23 AT 09:38 PM (EST)]While re-reading your car stories%2C I ran into a mention of a Saab.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo%2C was the Saab one of the cars you%27ve owned that did nothing of particular note%2C or do you have an interesting Saab story%3F%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AYes%2C half the reason I%27m asking is because I will probably never have another opportunity to ask that question in all seriousness. 1|1|0|||1||Car Adventures%3A Saab 900S convertible|Gryphon||03:11:22|08/20/2021|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Aug-20-21 AT 03:12 AM (EDT)]%3EWhile re-reading your car stories%2C I ran into a mention of a Saab. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3ESo%2C was the Saab one of the cars you%27ve owned that did nothing of %0D%0A%3Eparticular note%2C or do you have an interesting Saab story%3F %0D%0A%0D%0AOh%2C yeah%2C I didn%27t get to the Saab%2C did I%3F Chronologically%2C the series sort of fizzled out with the car immediately before it%2C the Crown Vic.%0D%0A%0D%0AI should probably set the scene a little. In the fall of 2000%2C I still lived in Waltham. I%27d just taken what I didn%27t know at the time would be my last tech job. A few general time references%3A %5Bi%5DSymphony of the Sword%5B%2Fi%5D was not yet a thing. The third season of NXE had just recently wrapped up and the movie was in the plotting phase. %5Bi%5DTwilight%5B%2Fi%5D %28the UF miniseries%2C not... the other thing%29 wasn%27t finished yet. William J. Clinton was still President of the United States.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe New York World Trade Center was still there.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt was the last year of the second millennium. It was a different age.%0D%0A%0D%0AAs I mentioned in the Crown Vic post%2C I%27d decided to start looking for a smaller%2C newer car. I had actually sold the Crown Vic to someone my father knew%2C while back in Maine visiting family%2C and was driving the Spare Oldsmobile %28every family should have one%29 while I shopped for something new. In particular%2C I had my eye on the Volkswagen Jetta%2C which had just entered its fourth generation and still had fairly boxy styling. At the time%2C VW sold a Jetta trim level called the %22Wolfsburg Edition%22 that I quite liked the looks of%2C for reasons that escape me now.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd here%27s the thing%3A I couldn%27t find one. Well%2C that%27s not true. I found several%21 What I couldn%27t find was a dealership that I was willing to buy one from. My first attempt was at the VW garage up here%2C in Bangor%2C but the salesman I talked with there refused to negotiate in any way whatsoever. I%27m not exaggerating%2C he demanded full sticker price or no sale. This wasn%27t because the Wolfsburg Edition was particularly rare and in high demand%2C or anything market-driven like that%3B it was simply because I lived out of state%2C and%2C as he bluntly told me%2C they wouldn%27t make any money out of me for service after the sale%2C so they had no incentive to make any kind of deal with me.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo I left.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28As it turned out%2C the joke was on him%3B I moved back to Maine within 18 months%2C so they would%27ve had me for more than two-thirds of the warranty period.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AAfter returning home%2C I tried again at a dealership in southern New Hampshire%2C but at %5Bi%5Dthat%5B%2Fi%5D one%2C when I told the guy I was looking for a Jetta%2C he said dismissively%2C %22You don%27t want one of those. That%27s a chick car%2C%22 and started aggressively upselling the larger%2C more expensive Passat in its place.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo I left.%0D%0A%0D%0ANow thoroughly annoyed%2C I decided I%27d give Volkswagen one last chance and presented myself at VW of Boston%2C which was %28and I assume still is%29 on Route 20%2C not far from the Watertown line. The location will become important in a second. There%2C I found the exact car I was looking for%2C in the right color%2C with the right stuff. To my mild surprise at that point%2C I also found a salesman who wasn%27t a dick. We got to a workable price%2C and it seemed like the thing was finally going to go down...%0D%0A%0D%0A... until I got to the %5Bi%5Dfinance%5B%2Fi%5D guy%2C who turned out to be the dick at that particular dealership. He didn%27t want anything to do with the preapproved auto loan from the bank affiliated with my insurance company I already had%2C and insisted that I apply for their in-house financing. When I told him I had no intention of using any financing other than the package I already had%2C he said I could still go with my own%2C but %22giving them their chance%22 was a condition of the sale.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo I left%2C because I already told him I didn%27t care to do that%2C I don%27t like to repeat myself%2C and I was sick and tired of getting fucked around with by smarmy tie-wearers at Volkswagen dealerships anyway.%0D%0A%0D%0AOn my way back to Waltham on Route 20%2C still pissed off and muttering to myself%2C I stopped at a traffic light in Waltham and noticed a Saab dealership on the corner. I%27d seen it before%2C because it was near a restaurant where Zoner%2C Truss%2C and I used to eat pretty often%2C but never given it much thought. Now%2C as I idly looked it over%2C I noticed they had a couple of 900 convertibles out on the forecourt. On a whim%2C I pulled in%2C parked%2C and got out to have a look.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere were two of them%2C both dark blue %28basically the same color I%27d been looking for a Jetta in%29%2C and peering inside%2C I saw that one of them had a manual transmission. A salesman came out of the building and walked over%2C asking if he could help me.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22How much do you want for this%3F%22 I asked%2C nodding to the 900 with the stick shift.%0D%0A%0D%0AHe told me it was a 1997 program car %28i.e.%2C a car that had just been returned to the manufacturer at the end of a three-year lease%29 that had been somebody%27s company car in New Jersey%2C and I could drive it away for about %243%2C000 more I%27d been looking at paying for a new Jetta. Figuring there was no chance but I might as well%2C I counteroffered with the figure I%27d already mentally spent at three Volkswagen dealerships.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Hang on a sec%2C%22 he said%2C and went inside. A few minutes later he was back. %22We can do that.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ASo... that was easy. The only wrinkle was that I had to come back for it the next day%2C because it had literally just come off the truck that morning and they hadn%27t had a chance to give it a presale inspection or detail it yet. But%2C since I wasn%27t going to trade in the car I was driving anyway%2C that was fine. We did the paperwork on the spot%3B I went back the next day and they had it all ready for me%2C with license plates and everything. There was no dicking around of any kind.%0D%0A%0D%0AI had that car for 12 years%2C far longer than any other%2C and out of all the ones I%27ve had%2C it%27s the one I want back the most. It%27s the car that Truss and I drove out to Chicago for Anime Central 2001%2C the road trip during which we ended up plotting most of Symphony 1. The one that could hold a Surprising Amount of Luggage. When I moved back to Maine%2C it carried me back and forth to all the various places %28most of them rather dreary and repetitive%29 I had to visit during my brief career in journalism. It was the only second-gen 900%2Ffirst-gen 9-3 I ever saw in which the dot-matrix display shared by the onboard computer and the radio remained legible %28they usually devolved into Martian after three or four years%29. The first car in which I experienced the magic of heated seats. My first and only convertible.%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%2C Wolfgang%27s favorite car.%0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2FG-GFX%2Fhound%2F20020921roadtrip.jpg%0D%0A%0D%0AEventually%2C inevitably%2C it started showing its age. The driver%27s side seat heater failed%2C the clutch started to get flaky at around 150%2C000 miles%2C and%2C most troubling%2C the roof developed a very weird problem with water. It didn%27t leak%2C as such--if the top was up and it rained%2C there weren%27t any drips inside the cabin or anything%2C but the next time I %5Bi%5Dopened%5B%2Fi%5D it%2C water would pour out from inside the %5Bi%5Dframe%5B%2Fi%5D at the joints as they folded up. Very strange.%0D%0A%0D%0AOn the fourth of July in 2012%2C I was getting ready to take my mother to watch the fireworks with the top down. It had rained the day before%2C so the water started coming out of the frame when it was halfway down as usual. Mother%2C startled%2C grabbed the towel I kept in the back seat to mop up after these events%2C and it looked like she was going to try to stop the flow %5Bi%5Dimmediately%5B%2Fi%5D. I took my finger off the button and yelled at her not to mess with it while the machinery was still moving. A short argument ensued as she insisted that she hadn%27t been about to do any such thing %28I%27m still pretty sure she was%29%2C and then%2C when I tried to put the roof the rest of the way down%2C I found that it had jammed. It wouldn%27t go back up%2C either. In the end%2C I had to pull the emergency release%2C which permanently disconnected the power top mechanism%2C in order to close it again.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe next day%2C I called around to the service departments at several Saab dealerships%2C and none of them had ever heard of one leaking like that%2C or knew what might be causing it%2C let alone how the problem might be corrected. They %5Bi%5Dcould%5B%2Fi%5D repair the power top mechanism itself%2C since the emergency release thing was a known failure condition%2C but one of the service managers I talked to came right out and said it wouldn%27t be worth what he would have to charge to fix it. Who repairs a 15-year-old car anyway%3F%0D%0A%0D%0ANot long afterward%2C the company went under%2C the dealership and service network shut down%2C and the point became a bit moot.%0D%0A%0D%0AEven so%2C if I had a garage%2C I%27m convinced I would still have that car. I%27d have done whatever was necessary to put the top down one last time and then left it that way%2C and it would have taken up a gentle retirement as a warm-weather toy%2C brought out to take advantage of the one hour and forty-three minutes of nice weather per year we get up here. But I don%27t have a garage%2C and I was back in school and didn%27t have any money either%2C so when someone saw it sitting in my father%27s driveway awaiting repair and offered him a few bucks for it%2C he badgered me to Be Practical until I finally gave up and let him sell it.%0D%0A%0D%0AI saw my old Saab one more time%2C a couple of years later%2C in the parking lot of a supermarket near the University of Maine campus. I knew it was mine because the new owners hadn%27t bothered to remove the Decepticon insignia sticker from the windshield. It was a nice day and the top was down%3B I%27ve occasionally wondered whether the people who bought it got it fixed%2C or just did what I reckoned I would%27ve done and kept it in a garage except on nice days. Either way%2C I was tempted to leave a note on it%2C but decided to leave well enough alone and went back to campus. I never saw it again.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo yeah. In the end%2C it %5Bi%5Dis%5B%2Fi%5D kind of a sob story.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 2|1|0|||||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|zwol||10:57:08|01/26/2023|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jan-26-23 AT 10:57 AM (EST)]As an %22ask Gryphon anything%22 thread this never really got off the ground%2C huh%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AHere%27s something I%27ve been wondering about for ages%3A in %5Bi%5DValiant Rose%5B%2Fi%5D%2C the ill-fated Colonel Loyola has this reaction to seeing one of the IPO%27s stargates%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A%3E %22Let her run%2C%22 said the colonel with a condescendingly%0D%0A%3E merciful air. %22Let%27s go see what%27s got her so spooked.%22%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E He ducked through the hole in the door and pulled up short.%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E %22What in the world... %3F%22 he wondered%2C looking up at the%0D%0A%3E gleaming%2C inert ring of the stargate. As the PA system counted down%0D%0A%3E from ten%2C Loyola started to laugh at the absurdity of it all. -This-%0D%0A%3E was what had frightened Montano%2C an ostensibly stable officer%2C so%0D%0A%3E badly that she%27d defied his orders%2C insulted him%2C and deserted in the%0D%0A%3E face of the enemy%3F Why%2C it was nothing more than a -%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E %22... Zero.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AI always assumed this was intended as a plot hook%2C but it%27s been a very long time and no story has followed up on the premise%2C so I%27d like to ask%3A What did Loyola think he was looking at%3F%0D%0A%0D%0A%28If the answer is %22yes%2C that %5Bi%5Dwas%5B%2Fi%5D a plot hook and the follow-up story is still coming someday%2C%22 that%27s perfectly understandable%2C of course.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bsmall%5Dedit%3A DCF eats paragraph indentation%5B%2Fsmall%5D 3|2|2|||||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|Kendra Kirai||12:19:05|01/26/2023|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jan-26-23 AT 12:19 PM (EST)]I can%27t speak for Gryph%2C but I %5Bi%5Dthink%5B%2Fi%5D the idea is that the one who ran knew that the gate%2C whatever it was%2C was something that %2Awould not%2A be allowed to be captured. While Loyola was dumb and just saw a ring thing. 4|3|3|||1||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|Gryphon||13:11:59|01/26/2023|%3EI can%27t speak for Gryph%2C but I %5Bi%5Dthink%5B%2Fi%5D the idea is that the one %0D%0A%3Ewho ran knew that the gate%2C whatever it was%2C was something that %2Awould %0D%0A%3Enot%2A be allowed to be captured. While Loyola was dumb and just saw a %0D%0A%3Ering thing. %0D%0A%0D%0AThis is exactly it. Montano knew as soon as she saw the Stargate and its attendant facilities that %5Bi%5Dwhatever%5B%2Fi%5D that thing was%2C there was no way something like that would be allowed to fall into enemy hands%2C and the PA message about the facility%27s imminent self-destruction had to be for real.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 5|2|2|||1||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|Gryphon||13:33:40|01/26/2023|%3EI always assumed this was intended as a plot hook%2C but it%27s been a %0D%0A%3Every long time and no story has followed up on the premise%2C so I%27d %0D%0A%3Elike to ask%3A What did Loyola think he was looking at%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AAh%2C a slightly different question from the one Kendra answered %28and I was about to%29. No%2C it wasn%27t intended as a plot hook%2C just an example of an Earthforce officer being ignorant%2C and dismissive%2C of Zetan technology. He thought it was a decontamination arch. Strangely ornate%2C and surrounded by a lot of random-looking gubbins%2C but these Zetans are strange people%2C you know.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 6|3|5|||||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|Kendra Kirai||17:16:19|01/26/2023|It%E2%80%99s always been weird to me that Earthforce would be dismissive of Zetan and WDF tech when so much of it is either black boxes that they won%E2%80%99t let anybody look at%2C formed the backbone of galactic society%2C or is %2Awell known%2A to be superior to half the known galaxy.%0D%0A%0D%0ALike%2C I get there%E2%80%99s that good old down home nationalistic pride and superiority and not a small amount of flat out racism going on%2C but how up your own ass do you have to be to dismiss 20 kilometer long hypercarriers and ground troops that have been known to field weaponry that would normally be mounted on starships%3F 7|4|6|||1||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|Peter Eng||20:14:59|01/26/2023|%3EIt%E2%80%99s always been weird to me that Earthforce would be dismissive of %0D%0A%3EZetan and WDF tech when so much of it is either black boxes that they %0D%0A%3Ewon%E2%80%99t let anybody look at%2C formed the backbone of galactic society%2C %0D%0A%3Eor is %2Awell known%2A to be superior to half the known galaxy. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3ELike%2C I get there%E2%80%99s that good old down home nationalistic pride and %0D%0A%3Esuperiority and not a small amount of flat out racism going on%2C but %0D%0A%3Ehow up your own ass do you have to be to dismiss 20 kilometer long %0D%0A%3Ehypercarriers and ground troops that have been known to field weaponry %0D%0A%3Ethat would normally be mounted on starships%3F %0D%0A%0D%0AI have several thoughts on this%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A100 years is a long time%2C even with futuristic improved lifespans. The Exile let people forget what overtechnology can do.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere%27s a fair percentage of overtechnology that is kept out of sight%2C most of what is visible is used only rarely%2C and it%27s a big universe%2C so when it is used%2C there%27s not necessarily a lot of witnesses.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe AT%26T is a marvel of technology which sits rather close to the border between technology and overtechnology%2C as was the Executioner. There%27s probably a small group of scientists who think%2C %22Technology took down the SDF-17%3B maybe overtechnology isn%27t all that and a bag of chips.%22 They%27re wrong%2C and likely unaware of the sabotage on the Wayward Son that was of critical importance%2C but that%27ll happen. There may even be people who think that overtechnology is just a word made up by Zeta Cygni to keep people from trying to duplicate it. %28%22It%27s just a lie they made up so they can keep oppressing us.%22%29%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd yes%2C after the pounding that Daggerdisc gave Earth%27s defense grid%2C nobody with any sense should buy into that line. Real life conspiracy theories hold up under equally devastating facts%2C though.%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0A%22You%27re using all the climate data I linked you to to prove global warming%21 That%27s cherry-picking%21%22%0D%0A%28at this point%2C I realized he was too stupid to debate%29 8|5|7|||||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|CdrMike||03:55:31|01/27/2023|%3EI have several thoughts on this%3A %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E100 years is a long time%2C even with futuristic improved lifespans. %0D%0A%3EThe Exile let people forget what overtechnology can do. %0D%0A%0D%0AA century is also the difference between men in bright uniforms fighting with bolt-action rifles and Gatling guns and soldiers in camo that%27s invisible from a few feet away carrying assault rifles and automatic grenade launchers. It%27s easy to fool oneself into believing that whatever technological gap existed in 2288 has not only been bridged but even overcome. %0D%0A%0D%0A%3EThere%27s a fair percentage of overtechnology that is kept out of sight%2C %0D%0A%3Emost of what is visible is used only rarely%2C and it%27s a big universe%2C %0D%0A%3Eso when it is used%2C there%27s not necessarily a lot of witnesses. %0D%0A%0D%0ARight%2C before %5Bi%5DDaggerdisc%5B%2Fi%5D it was probably assumed that the space necessary to fit a fold drive %5Bb%5Dand%5B%2Fb%5D a reflex cannon into a single hull meant only immense battlewagons were feasible. That while veritech fighters are impressively versatile%2C they are compromised in ability compared to a dedicated space fighter or mech. And that items like man-portable wave motion cannons are also crippingly expensive to field in numbers that make them more useful than a more conventional%2A chemical explosive. %0D%0A%0D%0A%3EThe AT%26T is a marvel of technology which sits rather close to the %0D%0A%3Eborder between technology and overtechnology%2C as was the Executioner. %0D%0A%3EThere%27s probably a small group of scientists who think%2C %22Technology %0D%0A%3Etook down the SDF-17%3B maybe overtechnology isn%27t all that and a bag of %0D%0A%3Echips.%22 They%27re wrong%2C and likely unaware of the sabotage on the %0D%0A%3EWayward Son that was of critical importance%2C but that%27ll happen. %0D%0A%3EThere may even be people who think that overtechnology is just a word %0D%0A%3Emade up by Zeta Cygni to keep people from trying to duplicate it. %0D%0A%3E%28%22It%27s just a lie they made up so they can keep oppressing us.%22%29 %0D%0A%0D%0A%22If you could make God bleed%2C people would cease to believe in Him.%22 %0D%0A%0D%0A%3EAnd yes%2C after the pounding that Daggerdisc gave Earth%27s defense grid%2C %0D%0A%3Enobody with any sense should buy into that line. Real life conspiracy %0D%0A%3Etheories hold up under equally devastating facts%2C though. %0D%0A%0D%0AThe fact that the WDF had managed to shoehorn their most powerful weapon%2C a functional fold drive%2C %5Bb%5Dand%5B%2Fb%5D the reflex reactor necessary to power both into a ship smaller than a corvette would be the cause of some...mild alarm in the Earthforce brass. But what would quell any immediate desires to head for the Outer Rim would be that there was no sign that the WDF was exploiting whatever breakthrough they%27d made. Ships weren%27t disappearing into the dockyards for lengthy periods%2C only to come out with major alterations that could only be explained new internals. Nor was there any sign that the same yards were ramping up for new ship production. Within a year%2C odds are %5Bi%5DDaggerdisc%5B%2Fi%5D would be written off as a proof-of-concept%2C a one-off prototype that was yet another example of how much of an eccentric genius Gryphon apparently is.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont size%3D%222%22%5D%2A i.e. cheap%5B%2Ffont%5D 10|4|6|||1||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|Offsides||20:46:42|02/02/2023|I tend to think that is proof that Earthgov%27s propaganda machine is so good that outside of those explicitly %22in the know%22%2C even their own people believe it. After all%2C there%27s %28maybe%29 no way they%27d get Earthforce to try a frontal assault on RZC facilities if they understood just how big of a sleeping bear they were being told to go kick...%0D%0A%0D%0A%26%2391%3B...%26%2393%3B in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.%0D%0A -- David Ben Gurion%0D%0AEPU RCW %23%26pi%3B%0D%0A%23include %3Cstdsig.h%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A 9|1|0|||||RE%3A Ask Gryphon Anything %282021 edition%29|mdg1||15:47:26|01/27/2023|%3E%E2%80%A6or do you have an interesting %5Bi%5DSaab story%5B%2Fi%5D%3F %0D%0A%0D%0AWell played%2C Mr. Eng.