Abandon Ship
The topic I was discussing in my last entry — which marked the unheralded return of the Oddball Oddcast in a pared-down form — was not really done being hashed out in my head at the time I posted it. Shortly after I recorded those oh-so-scintillating 12 minutes of gabbling about the MMORPG Star Trek Online, I finally decided that I was gonna blow some walking-around money and get the “Original Series Bundle” through the game’s online store.
The “TOS Bundle”, as it’s called, would have given my in-game character the ability to walk around the original Enterprise bridge and interior, several classic TOS uniforms to wear, the TOS-style Type II phaser, and a classic shuttlecraft to…do something with, I guess. Maybe crash-land on a planet of big hairy trolls, or fly into the maw of a planet-killer. Even if I never would up getting much further in the game than I did during the beta, it would be cool for a little while.
However, apparently the makers of Star Trek Online are not very interested in taking my money, despite the incredibly big show they make of it. And this, I discovered, was only the first of many reasons why I now feel increasingly compelled to just stay away from this game.
Oddcast 1/11/2012: Star Trek Online
This episode of the Oddball Oddcast discusses Star Trek Online, soon to relaunch under a free-to-play model, and the nigh-uncontrollable compulsion I feel to play it despite having very little time or appetite for MMOs. Which half of my personality will win out: the dyed-in-the-wool Trekkie, or the busy dad with no patience for online buffoonery?
A No-Drill Front Plate Solution for SAP GTOs
A friend recently bought a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR and, like many car enthusiasts, was wary of drilling into his paint to install the factory-supplied front license plate bracket that the state of Texas lamentably requires. We started looking for a less invasive option for him, at which time I realized that I, too, needed a better solution for my front plate as well. Ever since I transported my GTO from Florida to Texas last spring, my front plate has been sitting up in the dashboard. I long ago gave away the front bracket supplied by Pontiac, figuring that I’d never live in a state that requires a damnable front plate.
It occurred to me that having a license plate propped up against the inside of the windshield was a potential serious safety hazard, one that could instantly turn into a tin stiletto should I ever (God forbid) get into an accident. So my friend and I decided to both order proper license plate brackets and solve both our safety and legal issues right then and there.
For his Evo, we ordered the Swift Motorsports hideaway plate holder. It’s a mechanical retracting plate bracket that mounts to the bottom of the car, so you only need to drill into surfaces that aren’t normally visible, keeping any eyesores hidden. Even better, you can stow the plate under the car by flipping it down 90 degrees and pushing it back under the front end. Great for car shows, car washes, or if you really hate the look of the plate, driving out of state.
For my GTO, I wasn’t convinced that there was a good place to mount the hideaway plate. Unlike the Evo, the underside of the GTO’s front end — even with the SAP kit included — has a nice flat lip, but it doesn’t go back very far. It was the aft end of the hideaway bracket that didn’t seem to have a decent mounting spot. But I couldn’t just bite the bullet and go with the factory solution, because the Sport Appearance Package front end is incompatible with the standard GTO front plate bracket — and the special SAP-compatible bracket is long out of manufacture and near impossible to find.
Then I discovered the ultimate solution on the LS1GTO forums. Another member, who had a GTO with the SAP kit almost exactly like mine, had fashioned the perfect solution out of none other than a mid-’90s Ford Explorer front plate bracket, which in his case he had mounted with only double-sided tape! He said that some minor trimming was required but didn’t elaborate, and the one picture he posted of his car with the bracket attached wasn’t close up enough to afford me any detail. But it looked perfect, and the fact that it could theoretically be done without drilling any holes for screws was mighty tempting. So I went searching, found the Explorer bracket on eBay, and crossed my fingers that the install would go smoothly.
Below, I’ll show you how I did it.
