modessitt
Volunteer: Encyclopedia Submission Moderator
No, this is not a Phet Phantasy (I don't think).
So, I get off work about 4pm, and as I'm driving home I get a call from another KLOVer (frytex) about a $50 Pole Position cockpit on CL here in Austin. He's down near San Antonio (about 50 minute drive south on the interstate) and has already e-mailed the guy. He wants to know if I can go grab it if he gets a response. I say, "Uh, sure."
So, I get home, grab a soda from the fridge, kick off my shoes, and settle down to check the ol' KLOV, when I get the call, "It's mine!" Sigh. So, I get the address and phone number, call the guy (young), pull the shoes back on, grab my keys and head out. It's only about 15 minutes from where I live, so it's not that bad. The guy tells me it's sitting on their back patio/porch (has a roof over it) and that there are about 5 steps to get it down to the sidewalk, but that he's the only one there to help me. Okay.
So, I get there, see the game on the patio/porch, notice there are only 4 steps (whew), and knock on the door. The guy looks like a typical frat-boy type - low-20's, beer t-shirt, etc. We go around to the game, and it looks like shit. Has some chunks taken out of a couple corners, and has some graffiti scratched into the art (somebody loves Marcia, btw), and the bottom coin door is barely hanging onto the hinge. The guy tells me it might work, but that they moved it outside because it was taking up too much space inside. He plugs it in and flips the switch, but it does nothing. Against my better judgement (hey, I wasn't buying it), I reach down and plug the power cord connector back into the power brick - and the game comes up working 100%! Has a very clean K7203 inside, too. The parts alone are worth $50, so I pay the guy and we start figuring out how we're going to get it off the patio/porch.
About that time, two other roommates/frat-boy-types show up - baseball hats on backwards, sleeveless Adidas/Nike workout shirts, bulging biceps, etc. They look like they just came from the gym. 'Cool,' I think, 'these guys will be more than enough muscle to help get this down to the sidewalk."
So, have I set the scene? We have three 6-ft-tall, muscular, young frat-boys and one 40-yr-old overweight guy - and we're going to move a Pole Position cockpit down 4 wooden steps. Piece of cake, right?
Well, we maneuver the cockpit to the top of the steps (it has wheels), and I position myself on the steps. The end with the monitor and everything is on my end and the seat and window is on their end. I tell the guys that I'll pick my end up and walk down the steps, and then they (all three!) can pick up that end and come down the steps and set it on the sidewalk.
Remember, I do this shit for a living, so I'm used to moving this heavy stuff.
So, I pick up my end (the heavy end) and walk down the steps, holding it up at waist level, until I get to the point where the other end is right at the edge of the steps. I can't see them, but this is what I hear:
"grab it...what are you doing?...I can't get a grip...do you have that side?...where are you grabbing it from?...scoot over..." and various other inanities.
I'm standing there for like 15 minutes (45 seconds) wondering what the hell THREE guys are doing on the other end, while I'm stuck holding the heavy end!
Finally, they get it about a half-inch off the ground and are able to keep it up long enough to get it to the bottom. Of course, they set their end down first, and I had to get my end down by myself.
I throw it on my truck (lift gate) by myself, tell them "Thanks!"
and get out of there....
So, I get off work about 4pm, and as I'm driving home I get a call from another KLOVer (frytex) about a $50 Pole Position cockpit on CL here in Austin. He's down near San Antonio (about 50 minute drive south on the interstate) and has already e-mailed the guy. He wants to know if I can go grab it if he gets a response. I say, "Uh, sure."
So, I get home, grab a soda from the fridge, kick off my shoes, and settle down to check the ol' KLOV, when I get the call, "It's mine!" Sigh. So, I get the address and phone number, call the guy (young), pull the shoes back on, grab my keys and head out. It's only about 15 minutes from where I live, so it's not that bad. The guy tells me it's sitting on their back patio/porch (has a roof over it) and that there are about 5 steps to get it down to the sidewalk, but that he's the only one there to help me. Okay.
So, I get there, see the game on the patio/porch, notice there are only 4 steps (whew), and knock on the door. The guy looks like a typical frat-boy type - low-20's, beer t-shirt, etc. We go around to the game, and it looks like shit. Has some chunks taken out of a couple corners, and has some graffiti scratched into the art (somebody loves Marcia, btw), and the bottom coin door is barely hanging onto the hinge. The guy tells me it might work, but that they moved it outside because it was taking up too much space inside. He plugs it in and flips the switch, but it does nothing. Against my better judgement (hey, I wasn't buying it), I reach down and plug the power cord connector back into the power brick - and the game comes up working 100%! Has a very clean K7203 inside, too. The parts alone are worth $50, so I pay the guy and we start figuring out how we're going to get it off the patio/porch.
About that time, two other roommates/frat-boy-types show up - baseball hats on backwards, sleeveless Adidas/Nike workout shirts, bulging biceps, etc. They look like they just came from the gym. 'Cool,' I think, 'these guys will be more than enough muscle to help get this down to the sidewalk."
So, have I set the scene? We have three 6-ft-tall, muscular, young frat-boys and one 40-yr-old overweight guy - and we're going to move a Pole Position cockpit down 4 wooden steps. Piece of cake, right?
Well, we maneuver the cockpit to the top of the steps (it has wheels), and I position myself on the steps. The end with the monitor and everything is on my end and the seat and window is on their end. I tell the guys that I'll pick my end up and walk down the steps, and then they (all three!) can pick up that end and come down the steps and set it on the sidewalk.
Remember, I do this shit for a living, so I'm used to moving this heavy stuff.
So, I pick up my end (the heavy end) and walk down the steps, holding it up at waist level, until I get to the point where the other end is right at the edge of the steps. I can't see them, but this is what I hear:
"grab it...what are you doing?...I can't get a grip...do you have that side?...where are you grabbing it from?...scoot over..." and various other inanities.
I'm standing there for like 15 minutes (45 seconds) wondering what the hell THREE guys are doing on the other end, while I'm stuck holding the heavy end!
I throw it on my truck (lift gate) by myself, tell them "Thanks!"
