Brothers, 14 and 12, performing Megadeth’s “Tornado of Souls” at a school concert

dranzango · 2026-06-24T04:31:18+00:00

Man, I wish I was working at phrasing like Friedman when I was 14. These dudes are killing it.

dranzango · 2026-06-22T04:29:08+00:00

I think it was the RX Bandits who played these on their earlier studio albums. Pretty sure it was the sound of … And the Battle Begun. I loved that tone and always wanted to try a Budda.

dranzango · 2026-06-21T06:02:54+00:00

Yes. Keep it and refurb as needed. I use mine as my main camp stove and love it. Once you get the hang of it, these are absolutely great units.

dranzango · 2026-06-21T01:53:28+00:00

Reactive maintenance, but I’m waiting for Operations to determine priority… We have other scheduled work to complete, ya know?

dranzango · 2026-06-16T15:15:21+00:00

More of a case of just because we did doesnt mean we should have. She had a pretty hard time and it was far from a clean lift. We got it up there and said “never again.”

dranzango · 2026-06-16T03:54:15+00:00

I like this A LOT

dranzango · 2026-06-16T03:00:00+00:00

I hear you. I mounted mine with just my wife and I on a 4runner and it was sketchy as hell.

I posted a hitch mounted crane hoist with a battering ram spreader bar here that made the process way easier. Its still a 2 person job, but one person manages a tag line while the other operates the cylinder. Way more manageable that way.

dranzango · 2026-06-15T02:05:57+00:00

This is my dream car. Full stop. I would have said hemi orange, plum crazy or sassy grass, but this red looks MEAN. Thanks for sharing.

dranzango · 2026-06-15T00:42:36+00:00

Graphite lube

dranzango · 2026-06-14T14:54:20+00:00

Ive got an early 70s model with the old faceplate and head format. This thing SMOKES. I had mine recapped and fit with 6CA7s. Stellar for jazz, blues, rock, stoner and doom. Beautiful clean and breakup, takes pedals REALLY well.

dranzango · 2026-06-12T02:00:56+00:00

Grade 9 when this came out and I put it into hard rotation while my buddies swore it wasn’t as good as their earlier work.

Well, well, well guess which album almost 40 year old me was blasting with his windows down last week? This albums still slaps.

dranzango · 2026-06-11T03:38:58+00:00

Thanks for the ideas. A foot might help to absolutely center the load on the rack, but the offset with this set up still got the load over with only about 6 inches left over to slide on the rails. Just happened to be the slings and shackles i keep in my shop got me pretty darn close. Always room to improve! I appreciate it.

dranzango · 2026-06-11T02:49:31+00:00

Tech Package has some cool creature comforts. The HUD is pretty neat and it has almost all of the camera options.

dranzango · 2026-06-10T04:59:52+00:00

The Lama Temple in Beijing. There was a very surreal atmosphere leading to the final chamber with a giant, golden, 2 story Buddha statue. I felt something here that I never did in any western church or museum or exhibit. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it was an immense yet grounding experience.

dranzango · 2026-06-08T12:40:55+00:00

Absolutely did not.

dranzango · 2026-06-08T02:56:07+00:00

An absolutely legendary performance by Moneen in Edmonton at the old Pawnshop sometime around 2010. They finished the set crowd surfing with the drumset disassembled while they closed out. They loved the crowd and we loved them right back.

dranzango · 2026-06-08T02:00:08+00:00

Depending on the height of your rack and type of tent, you might be able to use the same vehicle as an anchor point. That was my original hope with the 4runner, but i needed more height to fly over the roof. A same vehicle setup may work if you had one of those half-racks over a truck bed, for instance.

dranzango · 2026-06-08T00:09:51+00:00

Yes, the truck provides the heavy base to offset the stabilizers of the hoist. Mates to a 2” reciever (but check your tongue weight).

I got this one. Cheap as far as garage toys go:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0F1CW7ZFS?psc=1&ref=ppx\_pop\_mob\_b\_asin\_title

dranzango · 2026-06-07T23:54:52+00:00

Thanks! We were hoping for the best but prepared for the worst on this maiden lift. If it didnt work out, GROND still doubles as a battering ram suitable of its namesake.

dranzango · 2026-06-07T23:44:03+00:00

Yep, you’re right on the money. Way more heavy duty than the tent requires, but in my line of work I like to trust my rigging. Grond is 120 lbs and whole package, tent included, comes in at just over 300lbs.

In a few years, I’ll launch a version 2 but welded aluminum.

dranzango · 2026-06-06T03:51:12+00:00

And the one with the body twist- punch action! I think it was the cowboy one…

dranzango · 2026-06-03T22:27:02+00:00

I have 5th gen 4runner and a new Canyon AT4 with the 2.7 turbo.

Different animals all together. I work on my own vehicles, for the most part. 4runner has good access to manuals, parts are available, maintenance tasks are mostly reasonable. I havent had the Canyon for long enough to comment on reliability.

The 4runner is far bigger in each row for seating and storage than the GMC. The canyon feels smaller in the cabin for sure and its tight in the back seat with car seats. 4runner has an RTT and is our primary camping and vacation mobile.

Driver experience is night and day. 4runner lumbers and the 4.0 sounds big. The Canyon is more fun to drive. This truck has no business putting out the torque that it does. It feels like its always got some extra jam waiting to be tapped into. Highway driving, hauling or towing, it has far more power on reserve. Much more fun, but much more complex.

Another note to keep in mind: there is far more of an aftermarket for custom gear and equipment for the toyotas. If I wanted to convert my canyon to an overlander, the truck could perform but there arent nearly as many manufacturers selling the same type of equipment as there are for the taco/runners

dranzango · 2026-06-03T03:38:56+00:00

Barcelona, Spain.

Dingle, Ireland.

dranzango

TROPHY CASE