Elon Musk is right about the Twitter bot problem.

   You may have heard the news that Elon Musk backed out of his purchase of Twitter due to Twitter not disclosing the amount of bot accounts there are. Elon Musk is right about there being a bot problem. Twitter will deny that there is a bot problem but it seems like almost every day I have to #InstaBLOCK a bot that follows me. 

  Every day I almost have to block some kind of bot that follows me. It seems I get all of the hot lady bots to follow me. I'm dead serious about this. I can spot a bot just by the name. Usually these "Hot Lady" Bots have a really random name and user name. The names make zero sense whatsoever. They usually have 3 or 4 tweets of pictures of the supposed person. I think these images are stolen because they are never the same person. 

  Another good indicator that they are a bot is if they "Liked" any tweets. If they haven't liked a tweet they are a bot. Want another indicator? Check the tweet source. Usually these Hot Women bots "tweet" from the desktop website of Twitter. It will say Twitter Web App. That's a bot there bucko. Also a lot of these bots have some sort of Percentage in their twitter bio saying that they are the top some percent of whatever. 

  Sure these bots seem harmless but they piss me off. Instead of being genuine followers, they are totally fake as a fake Rolex. I wasn't born yesterday, I'm not naive. I know a bot when I see one. Every time my phone gives me a notification, it can mean two things, Somebody gave me a DM on Instagran or someone followed me on Twitter. When it's Twitter I'm like oh shit here we go again. So far I've blocked about 38 of these hot women bots. I give em the old James Woods #InstaBLOCK treatment. Its a major annoyance to see bots every two seconds. 

  I forgot to mention that these bots tweet everything in one day and then stop when they are done tweeting their stolen images. 

It's Been 26 Long Years

Back in 1995 when Batman Forever came out, I was literally obsessed with the movie. I loved the movie and the action figures. However 26 years ago, my Mom wouldn't buy me this epic 2 pack. Literally every time I saw Guardians of Gotham City in a store. I begged my Mom to buy it for me. She never budged at my request to own movie accurate Batman and Robin figures. Seriously who wouldn't want to own movie accurate Batman and Robin figures? Oddly enough she did buy me The Riddler and Two-Face 2 pack that Kenner made. I still to this day have no idea why she wouldn't buy this for me.

So as time went by, this 2 pack had eluded me. The online prices were beyond my price range. They are pricey because you guessed it, they are movie accurate Batman and Robin figures. Speaking of expensive, the Guardians of Gotham City 2 pack from Batman & Robin from 1997 is insanely expensive and for some reason rare. I have no idea why the 1997 one is so rare but that one also has movie accurate Batman and Robin figures.

  Over time I did some online shopping every now and then looking for these two figures that my Mom wouldn't buy me. The ones that were out there on average is around  $50. I'm not paying $50 for something. I wouldn't drop that on a Hot Wheels car. So about a week ago I was browsing eBay for Guardians of Gotham City and found one with a starting bid of $24.90 plus free shipping. So I placed a max bid of $30 and somehow I won the auction at $30. I guess I'm pretty lucky enough to win one for less than the average asking price. I was so excited that I finally won them.

  Anyway they arrived on Monday and I couldn't wait to free them from their plastic and cardboard prison. I did snap a some pics of it MOC to post to Instagram and to a DC figure thread on an action figure forum that I belong to. I got a lot of likes on my Kenner figures that I have been posting lately. I'm so glad that I never got this 2 pack as a child because they probably would have been got rid of when I moved. I actually gave away all of my Movie figures that I owned from Batman & Robin. I kind of regret getting rid of those figures but I am slowly rebuilding my Kenner Batman Collection. I used to have an Iceboard Robin figure from Batman & Robin. That figure is a movie accurate Robin figure. Unfortunately I gave it away, so I'm hunting for a new one at a decent price.

  Speaking of Guardians of Gotham City 2 Packs, the one from 1997 is somewhat expensive and hard to come by. These 2 figures were also movie accurate attires. I have no idea why the 1997 version is so rare and expensive, and I would like to know why it is. Batman & Robin is the worst Batman movie. If the movie is so bad, why are the toys so expensive?

People Wearing Masks While Driving

  Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the mask mandates took place, people got way too panicked. You've probably seen people walking in public spaces wearing a face mask. I think it's stupid to wear a face mask in public. COVID-19 isn't airborne. One of the things that really irritates me, is people who wear face masks while driving alone in their car.

  Wearing a face mask while driving alone in your car is really stupid. You're not going to get COVID-19 from your car. I understand that certain driving occupations require wearing a mask, such as a ridesharing service, or bus driver. However driving with your mask on while you are driving is stupid. Whenever I see someone wearing their face mask while driving alone, I can't help but laugh at them.

  You look like an idiot for wearing a mask while driving. Why do you have to be so afraid that you must insist on wearing a mask while driving your car? That's it that's why people wear masks while driving. They are so afraid of COVID-19. It's true there a lot of people who are so afraid of the virus that it's not even funny. I've seen people so afraid of COVID-19 that they are wearing safety goggles to protect them from the virus. They think that you can get COVID-19 from eyes. It's really sad to see how a virus has changed the whole world. Crazy times we are living in.

  When you wear your mask while driving, you look really stupid. I mean really, driving alone while wearing a face mask doesn't make any sense at all. I'm fully vaccinated and I find this amusing to see people wearing their masks while they drive. You are only making an ass out of yourself when you do this. 

  So please take the damn mask off while driving alone. Everybody who sees you doing this thinks you are an idiot. Wearing a mask while driving is like wearing a condom alone at night.

Obscure Hot Wheels Car of the Day: 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS

  I love collecting Hot Wheels cars. I like to showcase some of my favorites from my enormous collection of cars. Today's obscure car is the 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS. Now why is this car obscure? Well it's an obscure SUV in itself. The Isuzu VehiCROSS was unlike any other SUV in it's day. It was very unique and had features that weren't found on most SUV's. These features included a matte black resin shield on the hood of the VehiCROSS that was intended to reduce glare from the sun.

2000 First Editions

Another interesting feature of the VehiCROSS was a locking gas tank. How many new vehicles come with a locking gas tank?
 Here's a little production history for the VehiCROSS. In 1997 Isuzu debuted the VehiCROSS in Japan. They sold from 1997 to 1999 in Japan. It wasn't until 1999 when Isuzu debuted the VehiCROSS in the United States. They sold the VehiCROSS in limited numbers from 1999 to 2001. 1,805 were sold in Japan and 4,153 were sold here in the US.
  When the VehiCROSS debuted here in the USA in 1999, it got a lot of buzz from the automotive world. So It made sense for Mattel to get the Isuzu license so they could produce the VehiCROSS for the Hot Wheels line. So in 2000 the 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS debuted in the Hot Wheels 2000 First Editions series. It was released in Astral Silver Metallic paint for the First Edition release.

The Tiki Torchers version

  Onto the obscurity factor. The 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS was released only 4 times in total. The first 3 releases were in regular VehiCROSS color schemes. The second release came in 2001. This time it was painted in Proton Yellow. In 2002 the third one was released in Foxfire Red Mica. The 4th one is often forgotten. The fourth one is unlike the other 3 VehiCROSS's that Hot Wheels released. The 4th one was released in a 5 pack from 2004 called Tiki Torchers. The 5 pack release features different wheels than the previous 3 had. For the Tiki Torchers release it had the Off Road 5 Spoke Wheels or OR5SP's.
   Fun Fact about the Tiki Torchers version, it was used as a background vehicle in Robot Chicken. They actually use Hot Wheels cars depicting traffic scenarios. So Robot Chicken doesn't always use action figures. You got to keep an eye out for the Hot Wheels cars seen in the background.

  So the 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS was never seen again after the Tiki Torchers 5 pack. It's likely that Mattel lost the Isuzu license and never bothered to renew it. It's a shame because the Isuzu VehiCROSS would make a great car for their Car Culture Japan Historics series. The VehiCROSS has a cult following among off roaders. Some day it might be a future collectible.

Nobody wants your VHS copy of Titanic

   I went to The Salvation Army to look around for a bit today. I did my usual browsing and checked out the DVD's/VHS tapes. There were more VHS tapes than DVDs. However what caught my attention was there were 3 copies of Titanic on VHS. Last time I went there there was one copy. My God they are multiplying, 

Tons of Titanic VHS at a thrift store

  I have a theory that every thrift store in the Untied States has at least one copy of Titanic on VHS. At least every thrift store I've been to has a copy of the 2 VHS tape set. You can't give these away. Nobody wants your dizzy ass copy of Titanic on VHS. Why is that? Well for one, Titanic was one of the best selling VHS tapes of all time. You probably know that Titanic was at one time the highest grossing film at the box office. So it sold even better on VHS.

  However some VHS versions of Titanic are in Widescreen, but most of them are in fullscreen.  The original DVD release of Titanic was in non anamorphic widescreen. However later DVD releases corrected that and Blu-Ray's are anamorphic
. So with the fullscreen VHS version you are losing a lot of picture. Nobody really has a VCR anymore. VCR's went out with high button shoes. So the question is, why does every thrift store in America have copies of Titanic on VHS?

  I think the reason why is that nobody wants them anymore is because most people have completely upgraded their VHS library to Blu-Ray or DVD or streaming for that matter. I'm not saying that there are people who don't still use VHS tapes, because there are people who still use them. VHS is an obsolete media format that still has a niche market. However the market for VHS copies of Titanic isn't existent. Maybe the people who collect widescreen VHS tapes there are but nobody wants Titanic on VHS. They just sit on the shelves and collect dust. 

  If I owned a thrift store I would literally just throw VHS copies of Titanic away. Literally every thrift store should do this when someone donates a VHS copy of Titanic. Some thrift stores have literally a shelf full of Titanic on VHS. Who knew a VHS tape would be a shelfwarmer? A shelfwarmer is a collectors term for an item that just sits on the pegs or shelves in a store for what seems like an eternity. AKA an item that nobody really wants.

  Titanic on VHS is something that nobody wants anymore. Seriously it's amazing to see these rot on shelves at a thrift store. I don't manage a thrift store but I would definitely throw them out when someone donates them. What was once all the rage is now just a common everyday item at a thrift store. So please stop donating your VHS copies of Titanic to thrift stores or charity. Nobody wants them. If you are in the market for Titanic, just go buy the Blu-Ray it is 4 discs of entertainment.

Spin Master Monster Jam Megalodon Ride Truck

   When Mattel lost the Monster Jam license in 2018, I swore off on buying any Spin Master products. However in the summer of 2020, I took a trip down to the Outer Banks in NC. On our way there, we passed Digger's Dungeon, the home of the world famous monster truck Grave Digger. We couldn't stop but passing the place made me want to revisit the Monster Jam line. I was semi paying attention to the Spin Master line when they took over the Monster Jam license, but I swore off on buying anything. Well after we passed Digger's Dungeon I just had to break my promise and buy the Target exclusive, Evolution of Grave Digger 5 pack. Once I got that 5 pack, I was instantly hooked on the Spin Master trucks.

  Anyway starting in 2020 Spin Master added a series of chase trucks to the line like they did in 2019. The chase trucks in 2019 were training trucks from Monster Jam University. In 2020 they were ride trucks. You know the trucks that give rides. Anyway the first ride truck chase that I found was the BKT Tires ride truck at Kohl's. That was the one that grabbed my attention even further. I then acquired a Grave Digger ride truck on eBay. I never found the Blue Thunder ride truck or the El Tor Loco ride truck or the Earth Shaker one. I wanted the Megalodon one so I found one for $9.99 on the Monster Jam merch site.

  So I ordered the Megalodon Ride Truck from the website and they shipped it via FedEx SmartPost. I never had a problem with FedEx SmartPost till now but boy did my package go on an incredible journey. My package was shipped from MD. From there it went through different FedEx facilities. until it hit NJ. This is where the bouncing back and forth came in. For some stupid reason, FedEx kept sending my package back and forth from our local FedEx hub in Pittston, PA to Keasbey NJ several times. It took a month and 2 days for the package to arrive in the mail. After this whole ordeal with FedEx SmartPost I began to realize that The Pony Express was more reliable than FedEx SmartPost. I bet the Pony Express would have delivered the package sooner than FedEx SmartPost. So I'm not the only one who's in this boat. I have a friend who ordered some WWE figures and they were being shipped through FedEx SmartPost and from what he's telling me they are going on an incredible journey to WI.

  Now that the FedEx SmartPost thing is behind let's talk about the Megalodon Ride truck. As with all of Spin Master's ride truck chases, Megalodon sits on a leaf spring chassis. I think the reason they sit on the leaf spring chassis is due to the rear of the truck lacking an engine. You see the rear of the ride truck is where the riders sit. The way they have the seats and roll cage in the truck, they can't put an engine in the back. Also the front lacks an engine as well. So don't think your truck is defective. It's not missing any parts.

Megalodon Ride Truck from Spin Master

  The Megalodon Ride truck has nice big BKT Tires on it. All of the Legacy and Ride Trucks with the exception of the Grave Digger ride truck have the BKT in white on the tires.

The Real Megalodon Ride Truck

  Now the body of the ride truck isn't really that accurate to the real ride truck that I have pictured to the right. The roll cage on the ride truck is separate from the body whereas the real one it is all one piece. However the toy is great too. Don't get all upset that it's not accurate to the real thing. The Grave Digger ride truck isn't accurate to the real thing also. The big difference is that the real one has a full open roof whereas the toy has part of the cab enclosed with a roof that has Grave Digger ontop of it. 

  The Megalodon Ride truck is a great truck if you love ride trucks. However since it's a chase piece, they aren't packed in every case. Sadly this is the reason why I won't have a Blue Thunder, Earth Shaker or El Tor Loco Ride truck. They can be quite expensive on eBay.

A Surprising Thrift Store Find

  So ever since thrift stores are now open again, I can enjoy looking around them again. So as usual I keep checking them every day. I lost my job due to COVID-19 and have all the time in to go to thrift stores again. So last Saturday, I went to the other thrift store, that isn't The Salvation Army. I wasn't hoping to find anything decent there but I did find something cool that I like.

My new Chevrolet Winner's Circle hat

  Ever since they expanded this thrift store, there are more rooms full of items to explore. For instance they have a room with a mannequin in the running position for sale. The mannequin takes the cake. No I didn't buy the mannequin. Seeing a mannequin for sale is just strange.
  Anyway I did my looking around and decided to check the hat rack. Usually this thrift store has a decent hat selection. The Salvation Army has been hit or miss with hats lately. While checking the hat rack, I noticed a hat on the bottom, it had the Chevrolet bow tie logo and Winner's Circle on the back. Could it be an authentic Chevrolet Winner's Circle hat like the race car drivers wear? If so I had to have it. I picked up the hat and indeed it was an authentic Winner's Circle hat. Best part was it was $0.99 and appeared to be unworn. So this was one of those shut up and take my money situations. I have a ton of hats in my collection. a good majority of them I don't wear.

The back of my new Chevrolet Winner's Circle hat.

  I already had a Chevrolet Winner's Circle hat that my coworker gave me when he was cleaning out his NASCAR collection. However that hat was an unstructured hat. It was a mesh hat which was a positive thing. On the other side it is an unstructured hat. I don't really care for unstructured hats. Although I do have a few in my collection.
  This new Chevrolet Winner's Circle hat has the textured Chevrolet Bow Tie logo. My other 2 Chevrolet hats don't have the textured bow tie. This one gives it the new modern look. I'm shocked that the thrift store didn't charge more for this hat because of how nice it was. Heck for $0.99 I'll take it regardless. I've beaten the eBay prices for it. Not that I was in the market to buy one on eBay. I wasn't. I do look up victory lane hats on eBay from time to time to see what's out there.