The Rearview Mirror

The Earth Moves A Little

2010-03-29T13:34:00.002-05:00

Over the past weekend Ford and Geely inked the deal that would transfer ownership of the last brand of Ford's famed PAG (Premier Automotive Group) to a new owner. Having divested itself of Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston-Martin, Ford can now complete Alan Mullaly's vision of returning to the company's core brands. A wise move? I have some concerns.

Volvo was indeed a brand in need of some new direction and products. Volvo's were in the past "safe" cars. But all cars now are "safe" cars, so that niche has been eliminated. Volvo, in my opinion, could have been transformed into a very staunch environmental brand with hybrid technologies, efficient manufacturing and products with high recycling content. It would have been a good fit with their traditional customer base and a unique product in the Ford lineup.

The Chinese are coming. They will be here. Not personally, but they will be sending their cars over here. We have all their other products, but why have they not been sending the cars over. Well two reasons. I suspect the first is the patent infringements in their existing products, and second safety.

I've said it before and it's well known that China does not respect intellectual property rights. As soon as they lay one foot on the shore here with a US operation, it's going to be a field day in the courts. Next though, we are different consumer then we were forty years ago. We like seeing our vehicles hitting fixed objects on commercials to see how well they hold up in a crash. Europeans like to watch the same thing too. So far, Chinese cars don't hold up at all during a crash. Search on YouTube for a video of the Brilliance during European crash testing. The European distributor of the Brilliance has folded up shop. They are not quite ready for prime time.

That is about to change. With the acquisition of Volvo, Geely has the missing link to one of the pieces of the puzzle. They also have a foot in the door to solving the second one too. Clearly Volvo will be looking at their current product line up and finding engineering solutions to bring their product line up to current safety standards. Volvo has an highly competent engineering department that will be leveraged to make their vehicles safe to export to other countries. Geely has also licensed Ford technologies as well, therefore some of the pieces they need to build their vehicles will no longer violate intellectual property laws.

Has Ford lowered the drawbridge to let the Chinese enter our kingdom? Most likely yes. But as Toyota has found out recently, this kingdom can be a not so friendly place.

Year Three

2009-12-01T10:55:00.003-06:00

And so begins year three of my life here in Austin.

I know it's been a LONG time since I've updated here, but blame Facebook, not me.

Trees sure do grow. When I started this blog the trees barely covered the left side of my home, but now thanks to tree spikes, there is not much to see from the left side. So, I threw in a picture of the right side this time. It's satisfying to watch the trees grow and mark the passage of time.

I'm very happy to be here in Austin. A beautiful home, two very silly dogs and wonderful friends make this a place to settle down for the long haul.

I may not post much these days, but you at least know to check back in twelve months.

No Id

2009-07-25T18:00:00.004-05:00

I've been quiet the past week regarding the events in Cambridge, the President probably should have taken my lead. He learned a valuable lesson about "two sides to every story", and I'm a bit surprised he has not learned this a while ago.

When I moved to Texas in December 2006 the Travis County Sheriff paid me a visit one afternoon. It happened to the day I surrendered my California driver's license to Texas so they could issue me one from this state. I had a slip of paper but nothing with my picture on it. Contents from the prior owner of my home had been dumped in a field and the Sheriff and the landowner showed up at my home to find the prior owner. There was a pending charge for illegal dumping.

I was in the garage and we met in the driveway. I had no ID on me at all. A nice wallet full of credit cards but little else to say who I was. No, I was not the person they were looking for but I had to prove it, standing in the driveway of the person who's last known address was now mine.

Needless to say I was a bit freaked out. But no I did not yell and scream, cause a fuss, stomp my feet, etc. I was not indignant. I explained that this was my home now and asked for a moment to go to my office to pick up the closing papers. The officer agreed and I went back into my house. Down I came with the closing papers to show the house recently changed hands and I provided him with the prior owner's new address.

It was over. Just as I was taught it would be. My parents were very clear growing up that when a law enforcement officer stops you, be polite and courteous. Here I was having to prove who I was and I followed that protocol. And it all worked out as I expected it would.

If someone saw me breaking into my own home and the police were called, I don't think I'd be surprised. I would expect they would ask for my ID as some evidence I did actually live there. Law Enforcement is not fun when you're doing 70 mph in a 55 mph zone. However when your car is stolen, who do you call?

If you're asked for ID, don't freak out. It happened to me, it can happen to you.

Not A Bad Ride

2009-06-04T23:07:00.004-05:00

The Mazda is finally in the process of being repaired from the hail storm last March. On Monday I was tossed to keys to a 2009 Nissan Alitma 2.5S. It's a fairly basic four-cylinder model Altima, cloth interior, but all the power options. The transmission is a six-speed automatic with a manual mode. This is my first ride in this generation of Altima and I was pretty impressed.

Push button start is the latest gee-wiz feature on cars these days and it's standard on Altima. When the remote is in the car, you put your foot on the brake and press the start button and the car comes to life. It doesn't take long to get used to, but there was one time I left the engine on when I exited the car. There's a gentile chime from the exterior of the car that reminds you what you've done. You can leave the car with the remote and it will stay running.

Coming from my Mazda6 with the six-cylinder engine I was surprised when I caught myself hitting the gas and not missing the extra horsepower. The Altima held it's own in suburban traffic. I'm not a hypermiler but it was fun to shift up to sixth gear as soon as possible for the best gas mileage. Below the speedometer there is a gauge that can tell you how you are doing. It's a fun bar graph to watch as it fill up the better gas mileage you're getting at the moment.

The mid-size, four-door sedan market is pretty crowded. The Altima remains competitively priced with the standard players. Reliability is not as high as offerings from Toyota, Ford and Honda, but you won't see yourself coming and going as much in the Altima as you would the others.

Push button start and not accidentally getting into someone else's car in the parking lot are not bad virtues.

I Am Debbie Downer

2009-06-02T21:12:00.004-05:00

Sigh, why the long face. GM went into bankruptcy and could not have asked for a better news day then when an Air France jet disappears in the Atlantic. It was a media miracle for GM, the stuff their PR team dreamed about. A headliner that trumpted GM's bankruptcy story. Obama had a press conference at noon on Monday to put a positive face on the whole thing. Gee, bankruptcy is not that bad after all. We should all do it.

There are a few things that will not work and I want to point them out well ahead of time. I like to take credit. GMC Truck needs to go along with Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer. Buick has value but needs to be folded with Chevrolet dealers. Buick only has three vehicles in their lineup. Unfortunately GM decided to merge the distribution channel of Buick, GMC and Pontiac years ago to consolidate roof tops. They did not plan on going under then. Chevy/Buick dual stores make since. Their price points do not collide on product. Cadillac will go it alone, but it's going to be tough. Those dealers barely sell more then Lincoln which is dueled with Mercury.

Buick/GMC is targeting an upscale customer. GMC trucks command a price premium, but they are the same vehicle as a Chevrolet. GMC has offered the upscale Denali series on it's truck and Chevrolet does not. But Cadillac sells upscale trucks in the GM stable. Give it up GM, it's time to put the kiss of death on GMC too. Best to do this now then go through another reorganization to kill off a division. By then no one will have any confidence in your company. Now is your chance. You can always sell upscale Chevy trucks, Ford does that with the King Ranch series. And they did not need a separate brand to do so. The day of the uber-luxury SUV/truck is limited with new CAFE regulations.

I warn you about the government taking over your new car warranty. Yes the government has pledged to back it. But warranty items can be gray. Concessions are made to please the customer, something the government is not likely to do. The government does not want your future car business.

It was kinda silly this week that when Ford announced it was upping production 10%, it had to apologize for doing so. The press asked if they were being opportunistic in the wake of the GM/Chrysler bankruptcy filings. Well hell yes they are taking advantage of the situation. They are not getting bailed out by the government and they need to make that up. In our new wave of socialism, we have forgotten this is still a free-market economy. You gain your market share where and when you can. We need to be empathic to distressed industries and companies, but this is not a first grade soccer game where everyone gets a trophy.

A Chinese firm bought Hummer today. They will close the deal in the fourth quarter of this year. The Chinese are coming and they are brutal competitors. We owe them so much money we cannot shut out their product policy wise. We can only not buy it. I'd like to think we have a social conscience in this country but then again we can't stay out of Walmart to save our lives. We ignore the safety issues with Chinese made products, but will we continue that thought process with our cars?

On the bright side, Lincoln sales are up 2% over May of last year. You say Huh? It's the return of the Lincoln Town Car to the line up. Town Car rules!

I'm happy again.

Change Is A Constant

2009-05-31T11:07:00.005-05:00

Last Friday at 4:30 pm,cst. I sat in front of my computer and I felt very sad. Change is a constant I keep telling myself, but as someone who likes traditional things, this event was a bit hard to swallow. May 29th was the last full trading day for General Motors stock. It had fallen to $.75 a share, with a market value of $500 million dollars. Clearly, there was no more General Motors as we know it.

There will be books, documentaries, columns, etc.. for months and years to come about what caused this once barometer of our economy to collapse. It all comes down to management, but what decisions will be a lightning rod for critics is well beyond me. When Alan Mullaly took over the helm at Ford, he told senior management the company had been having a going out of business sale for the last 30 years. Apparently no one told GM that in time.

Rick Wagoner did not bring down General Motors, but he did not do much to save it. GM's terminal illness was too many brands and in China copied GM American's broken model. In China you can buy a Buick, Chevrolet, Vauxhall, Opel, Cadillac and Daihatsu and they are all made by GM. In contrast Toyota will let the Chinese buy a Lexus or a Toyota. Sound familiar?

Will GM be successful post bankruptcy? Any one's guess, but I have my doubts. First, management is not being replaced and that is unusual. In bankruptcy, the first thing to go is present upper management, the people who put you there. Second, the government will be the primary owner of the company. Historically we have not done this in the United States, but Britain tried this back in the 1970's with the disaster that was called British Leyland. They no longer make cars and Britain no longer has any domestically owned manufacturers. We consolidated the railroad under a government organization called Amtrak, and we still are subsidizing that decision.

There are those who are cheering the downfall of GM. And I can't blame them. Former customers who bought poorly designed vehicles and paid for repairs that they should never have had to. GM knew they would still sell cars, so why make customers happy. Despite the enormous engineering talent at GM, they have some legendary engineering failures on their hands. You knew the Pontiac Aztek was a looser when you looked at in the showroom. When your transmission went out or your diesel engine blew up after a few years that was a complete surprise.

Should you buy a GM product? I keep getting that question. In comparison to Chrysler, GM builds a better quality product. So the repair issue is less of a consideration. But since Chrysler went into bankruptcy, their products have been harder to finance as compared to Toyota, Ford, etc.. Several large lenders are now requiring larger down payments and higher interest rates. If you are a cash buyer or can secure good financing, you may be able to get a great deal if you have your heart set on a new vehicle.

But this is America. We live on a free market system. GM went into bankruptcy for a reason. Whey would you buy a product from a company that was so poorly managed? What cost cutting did they do the the product over the last year to save money? There are SO many vehicle options out there, why would you buy from a company that went bankrupt and possibly will not be there in the long term? What overwhelmingly compelling reason do you have to buy a GM product?

If you have to buy an American branded product, Ford makes a wonderful line of vehicles with the highest quality ranking for an American name plate. Some are higher then the imports. Ford outranks Nissan in quality as a company, but you don't hear that much. So go buy a Ford if you need a American branded product.

I do predict we will be without Buick (domestically) and GMC Truck eventually. Ford will outsell GM in 2009 and possibly 2010. If GM does fail in the next few year or so, it will be a HUGE black eye on the Obama administration and damage his presidency. You need revenue to exit bankruptcy, and if consumers shun GM products liquidation will be the next step as the revenue dries up.

You may gamble on a GM product if you like. President Obama has gambled on the entire company. Let's hope we're all winners.

Don't Buy It

2009-05-06T17:11:00.007-05:00

Failed clock spring from my Grand Cherokee

They say the Irish never forget.

Well it's true. But then there are times I don't need to be reminded of what's left a bad taste in my mouth. It comes back at me screaming. Case-in-point, recent Chrysler products. Regular readers may remember the Grand Cherokee that I sold off last year. I was annoyed with the electrical problems that came from parts that should have NEVER failed on the car.

I won't bother to explain what the clock spring is on a steering column. Unless you own a Chrysler product, you won't need to know what it does. Well mine failed on the Grand Cherokee I owned and I replaced it. Not a fun job but not a hard one. The toughest part of the job is that it should never have needed to be done in the first place. I had hoped that Chrysler learned it's lesson with the part, but sure enough they did not. Automobile Magazine just wrapped up it's long-term test of the 2008 Chrysler Town and Country. At 31,691 miles the clock spring failed. There were a total of four warranty claims for their vehicle in 32,880 miles.

Today Chrysler announced incentives up to $6000.00 so consumers would purchase one of their vehicles during their bankruptcy reorganization. Rightfully consumers are shunning the brand and were doing so over the past several years. Consumer Reports consistently ranks them at the bottom for quality. I do not recommend a single product they produce to anyone and steer buyers to other vehicles that may suit their needs while providing a better product.

Yes I'm taking responsibility for assisting Chrysler into bankruptcy. Somehow they missed the quality bandwagon that everyone has been on for years. They make domestic cars look horrible with their underdeveloped products that are built with lower quality parts.

My beef with all of this is the bailouts that they will never be paid back. Everyone knows the merger/purchase with Fiat is going to be a disaster. The merger of Chrysler and Fiat will be truly a merger of equals as they are both known for abysmal quality vehicles. Chrysler will limp around for a while, it's dealer network (what's left) will be used to sell Fiats until the Italian's retreat again as they did in 1984.

If you're a fan of scratching your head wondering how/why that part of your car managed to fail, head to your Chrysler dealer for a great deal. There's no mystery why their product is so cheap.

Happy Trails To You

2009-05-01T08:30:00.002-05:00

I think it's the longest I've ever owned an individual car. My Mustang is saying goodbye after four years in my stable. It was time to go though.

With so many cars that have come and gone over the last 24 years of driving, I can't keep up with them all. Some I don't even have pictures of, which I find hard to believe too. This is probably the most photographed car I've ever owned. While I've always worked on my cars, this is the first car I've "restored". I've clearly cut my teeth on this car with engine work and interior finishing. Along the way I've cut my fingers so many times that there's probably at least a pint of my dried blood throughout the car. I have a nice scar on my thumb from cutting the new carpet one day.

I took one last joy ride yesterday up to Hewitt, Texas to visit Latemodel Restoration Supply. There were some finishing touches I needed to apply before delivering the car. While I could have taken one of the other two rides up there, I thought one last ride to the place where I bought most of my restoration parts was fitting. With 113,000 miles on the odometer, the Mustang rode like a champ after two years of garage time. That 5.0L engine just goes and goes.

In the showroom was one of the first Mustang's I've ever really coveted. Back in 1978, when I was nine, Ford launched the Fox body 'stang. During it's introduction model year, it was named the Official Pace Car of the Indy 500. It was a real looker then, and it still is. Wow. I wanted to buy it...

But the reality set in. With work, a house to myself, two very energetic dogs, a social life and other hobbies, there was no time for two cars to keep up. A classic car is perpetual restoration project and this one had been put on hold for over two years now. I was not going to take it any farther then I had, and it was time to let it go. In truth, the BMW 635CSi is in better shape and requires less to maintain. It still needs work, but not nearly as much.

I'll own another Mustang at some point. It's most likely going to be something new though. Maybe one I can buy and maintain. The kinda car you don't drive on rainy days or let sit in the driveway. One that looks like new twenty years after you bought it.

Or I'll give in and get the '79 Indy Pace Car. You can count on one thing.

I'll have another car next year.

My Pontiac

2009-04-27T14:29:00.005-05:00

I'm not going to drabble on much here about the passing of Pontiac. I just want to say good bye and make a brief posting as I have some history with the brand. Out of college it was the first car I bought, a 1984 Pontiac 6000STE. Nothing against the car as I really enjoyed it, but I never bought another Pontiac or GM branded vehicle after that. There was never a true successor to the 6000STE, which at one time was one of Car and Driver's Ten Best Cars. The craptacular GM-10 series Grand Prix STE tried to succeed it but failed.

The sadness I have over the passing of Pontiac is for the many fans the brand had. Pontiac did HAVE a performance heritage and today we honor that. When Oldsmobile faded away, it was just remembered for being "old" as it was one of the very original car manufacturers and was in fact older then GM itself. Pontiac will be remembered for the GTO. The innovative Fiero (it's build structure and mid-engine design). And how can I not mention the screaming chicken Trans-Am's of the 70's. Yee Haw! Now Pontiac is a bargain hunter brand for customers with low FICO scores.

Goodbye Pontiac. The consumers have decided your fate.

Four Oh!

2009-03-19T21:34:00.002-05:00

Some birthdays are better then others. This was one of the best. Many thanks to all my friends for making it out last night. It was a school night after all. A few shout outs to Jim and Mike for driving me around last night. Tom supplied the camera for party pictures, such as the one above. And a big huge Texas sized thank you to my buddies Gary and Kurt for putting it all together. The cake was amazing.

We headed to Salk Lick where it takes about an hour or so to seat a party of twenty. But the food was worth it. An all-you-can-eat beef fest. We all went family style last night. I'm still full.

Just a few notes and shout outs. Thank you to my now favorite sibling Lisa who pulled off a Jordan sibling miracle and had my birthday gift to my house BEFORE my birthday. Jennifer did get points for a voice mail of Happy Birthday with charming children singing, but Jen, you gotta deliver the goods... Feel free to try and spend your way to number one sibling, I know how you like to win.

Of course, thank you Mom and Dad for the gas grill.

And a card I will keep for the rest of my life.

Black and Blue Ember

2009-02-22T21:30:00.008-06:00

The other day I received an e-mail about a car repair I had done to my Grand Cherokee. I was thrilled to find my blog was searchable and someone had actually found it useful when fixing their car. I've made the world a better place, one posting at a time.

So I have a head's up for all of you searching for a Blue Ember gas grill. Yes it was rated number one by Consumer Reports last year in their test of mid-sized gas grills. And in the article it refers you to Home Depot. So I headed to the big orange box to buy one. They no longer carry them, but you can get the left-over's on line.

So I wonder why Home Depot would not carry Consumer Report's number one rated grill. Well it's shipped from China wrapped in Kleenex on a Donkey. When you open the box, it looks like that's how it made it here. The grill pictured here was one of the casualties. It was dropped and the front control panel was crushed. Lowes of Round Rock had six other in stock with the front "crush" feature. Lowes of Austin on I-35 North had three with damaged handles.

Never fear, I don't give up. Easily. With a very red face, the Service Manager of Round Rock Lowes let me have the floor model at a nice 20% off. He was very nice and I can't complain about the service at all. I have a great new grill and the best one in the store was the one on display and they knocked $100.00 off the price for my troubles.

I can imagine that Home Depot may have had the same issue and that's why it's no longer carried there. When you shell out good $$ for a grill, you expect it to be in good shape. Thankfully my buddy Mike with his F-150 felt the same way and the four trips to Lowes were not too hard to coax out of him.

My last grill I've had for nine years, it's a Weber. It's served well, but the paint on the inside is now coming off on the food. Time for a change. Weber came in number two in the test, and I felt guilty not buying another one. But the Blue Ember had more features I liked and looked easier to clean.

The moral of the story. Before you leave Lowes with your Blue Ember, pull it ALL out of the box for inspection.

The more you know....

Crawford, Texas

2009-02-01T17:09:00.010-06:00

No bother in getting all worked up. This is not a tribute to our last President, even if you did like him. Sorry.

This is a road trip to a place etched into history. Washington had Mount Vernon, Bush has Crawford. A place to go to get away from Washington, D.C. Today was an unbelievably nice day here in Central Texas. Nearly 80 degrees and sunny with pillowy clouds dotting the sky. After a nice walk around Town Lake with the pups, I could not stay indoors. With gas being relatively cheap, two words came to mind. Road Trip.

Crawford is roughly two hours from my home and made the perfect afternoon getaway. An easy drive, Interstate 35 to Texas 317, and you're there. Once you leave the highway Texas 317 takes you through some very small towns and is mostly two lane. Old abandoned Main Streets mark what was once the town center.

When you make it to Crawford, George and Laura are there to greet you. The sign is faded and the "W'04" indicate that this is not a place where things are updated. There is no great town center, no rows of interesting shops or restaurants. Not even a Post Office. I wanted to find something interesting or meaningful to explain why the former President built a ranch here.

Of all the little burbs I drove though on my way, Crawford had some of the nicest and largest homes. So there may be something here I did not find. The big general store was closed, but I did manage to find another one to buy a few postcards. I didn't ask where the Bush ranch was, I was not really inclined to go there anyhow.

Crawford is not much, and Washington, D.C. is everything. It's one extreme to another.

Just like our Presidents.

Year Two

2008-12-01T16:04:00.004-06:00

It's a small thing and I only note it on here because this is how my blog had begun, a journey to buy a house in Austin. Today is the second anniversary of the closing of my house. I was not here for it, I arrived the next day.

I finished painting the master bedroom this morning. It's chocolate fudge brown now. It was one of the few rooms in my house that were painted before I bought it. Two years later, the colors are all mine. This is the same photo angle of my house from the listing. If you look back at past December blogs, you'll see the changes in the trees. My how you've grown!

Last night I attended a the first run of Holiday parties. There will be more. Besides the wonderful food and drink, I could not help but be thankful for the wonderful friends I've made in this short amount of time. I'm highly suspect of people who say they can't make friends in this town, it's the friendliest place I've lived.

I'm off this week, forced vacation time. You have to use your vacation or loose it. I'll be doing a few projects around the house.

What a surprise.

When The Pen Is The Sword

2008-11-18T21:36:00.012-06:00

No doubt the US auto industry is teetering on the brink of destruction. Ford has the cash to make it though until 2010 but the collapses of GM and Chrysler will destroy the supplier network that Ford and many other auto manufactures depend on. There has been so much talk about the bankruptcy of GM that the shock value has worn off. We're growing to accept that it is highly possible there will be no more General Motors. There is no longer PanAm, Woolworths, Bethlehem Steel, and the list goes on. Icons do pass.

There will be a huge impact to our economy and many companies without GM. But of interest today is Edmunds.com, my former employer. It's not about the website itself, but I guess more about Automotive Journalism here in the states. For years and years, Ford, GM and Chrysler were beat up and nit picked. Toyota's are boring, Nissan's not very reliable after all, Honda's bland, but these never were their main themes. Remember, Hillary Clinton on paper was probably the most qualified candidate for President. The pen is very mighty.

But in the case of Edmunds.com, the pen has come back to stab the hand that holds it. Today's Insideline.com featured an article called "Be American, Buy American". It was written by a "ghost writer" called "The Mechanic". Well that would have to be an Edmunds staffer as I doubt they've given the keys to the website to some nameless person. The picture for the piece was the new Chevrolet Camaro, a car that could conceivably never be produced.

It's a bit too late though. GM writes eight figure checks to Edmunds.com and it's a substantial portion of their total revenue. Out of respect, I wont' quote any figures from my time there, but it's quite a bit. You might say "wow". I found the timing of the article interesting as today the automakers went to the Senate for a beating while they were asking for life raft.

GM may have loved Edmunds.com, but I could never see the love returned. Bob Lutz even once paid a visit to the offices in Santa Monica. But recently they showed a picture of a Silverado attached to a tow truck as a main photo for a long term test. All cars can break down, but never in my nearly 30 years of car magazines can I recall such a slap. Despite the large chunk of cash bestowed on the company, during my time, no upper management drove a GM product. Acura, Lexus, Land Rover and Volvo, as I recall were the personal (not long term test) vehicles with reserved parking. If GM handed me an eight figure check, I might have a Cadillac or two parked in the reserved spaces.

But it may be too late Edmunds. It was not cool to be nice to GM either personally or in print. The company is run by a fine family with high caliber employees and despite the major bruising it may receive for the loss of GM, it will live on.

Just like the rest of us.

Big Decisions

2008-11-01T19:59:00.005-05:00

I've already voted. Thankfully Travis County does a great job of setting up polling places. One was by my office and I voted earlier in the week. Fast, efficient and convienent. Voting should always be this easy and acessable. I think the election is decided for President, the big show will be how big the Democrats lead in Congress will be.

What do we do about the American automobile industry?

Chrysler maybe a goner. Yes you can still buy one, in fact you can order one. But before we have another Congressional election, you won't be able to get a new one. Ford is doing ok, and will weather the storm with the surplus of cash on hand. But what do we do with GM?

GM has more then sales problems. It has cash problems. Two years ago Ford mortgaged everything. Credit markets were open, it was easy for them to get cash. GM sold half of GMAC (their finance arm) to raise cash. Now they can't lend you money to buy a car, but Ford still can. Ford held on to Ford Motor Credit.

GM is not an industrial icon to my generation. However to my parents generation it is. GM was everywhere on television, they owned half the new vehicle market in the United States and were at times eyed by the justice department to be broken up for anti-trust reasons. Today, GM has about 24 percent of the market and is on the verge of running out of cash. When you burn through a billion dollars a month from your bank account, well sometime in 2009 GM won't be able to pay their bills. They no longer pay them in 30 days as it stands today.

Do we save GM? Arguments are being made by governors across the country to lend money to help them out. We did help out Chrysler in the 80's and the treasury made $400 million in profit for doing so. Do we want to try the same for GM? You keep hearing GM is going to buy Chrysler, but don't be fooled. Chrysler is a goner, you're financing saving GM not Chrysler which will be closed. Period. There will be massive job losses regardless.

I work in the auto industry. The company I work for will be effected. Part of the problem with GM and Chrysler going under is that the suppliers who supply them will go under too. Those suppliers also supply the rest of our auto industry in the US and will face massive restructuring (layoffs). Oh, and the retirees who will be flooding the government funded pension guarantee system. Don't forget about them.

We've said good-bye to making textiles. We've said good-bye to making electronics. We've said good-bye to most of our manufacturing industry. But are we ready to say goodbye to General Motors?

Baseball, Apple Pie and Chevrolet. A fate that will be decided after Election Day.

My Kinda Town, Again

2008-10-28T21:12:00.003-05:00

My blog is taking it's third trip to Chicago. I'm here in business to see a client. My first trip was February 2007 for the Chicago Auto Show, the best of the auto show season. That was a momentous trip as I gave up Diet Coke and I've never had another one since. The next trip was November 2007 to pick up a 1988 Pontiac Fiero with my friend Mike and drive back to Austin.

Chicago helped me kick the Diet Coke habit but I'll never give up burgers and fries. So tonight I headed over to my old neighborhood here in Chicago to have dinner at the Green Door Tavern. It's old and it's wood. Rare in Chicago as most things post the Great Chicago Fire were made of stone. If you're downtown and want to head to a neighborhood bar without a "corporate" theme, head to the Green Door Tavern at Orleans and Huron. Try the blue cheese burger and some nachos. Yum.

And if you're on a budget, there's always the original Mr. Beef next door.

A Long October

2008-10-26T21:48:00.002-05:00

It's been a while, I know. As many of you know me, I'm a sporadic communicator at times.

I've begun to feel a bit of disconnect to my blog. And I'm going to overcome that, but it may take some time. My blog started out as the beginning of my departure from Los Angeles to Austin. You may recall that I left Los Angeles so I could buy a home and that was an important goal of mine.

I love my home here. I love my new friends. I love my dogs. I love having a garage and a big yard. I love the quality of life here.

There is so much that is good, but the last six weeks or so have been so bad. I've been angry, disappointed and at times a bit bitter. The government bailout of the banking system made me ill. I wrote my Congressman three times, and he voted against it. Anyone who broke the law writing mortgages from the broker to the underwriter should be brought before the courts, and he agrees as well. Despite my Democratic leanings, he's Republican and I'm voting for John Carter tomorrow. He wrote me back too.

So much of this is all wrong and we're spinning our heads looking for someone to point the finger at. The problem is that there is no one government, bank, mortgage company, President, Senator, CEO etc. We're looking at the government to fix a problem that wasn't theirs to begin with.

Having lived in the heart of the mortgage meltdown from 2000 to 2006 I was at ground zero of what was happening. I could have jumped in but I knew better. I wanted a house and I had to leave Los Angeles to get one. Back in the fall of 2006 you could still get a crazy mortgage that you could not possibly afford. I was offered upwards of 350k to buy a house. By Bank of America.

Of course I did not accept. I knew better. It was stupid. Your income times three is the price you should be able to pay for a house. I don't make that kind of money. (yet) Your income divided by two is the price you should pay for a car. Simple math I've learned long ago. I'm well below those two guidelines and while my parents expressed their pride in my decision making, I'm still feeling a bit ill and angry.

Bank of America, who owns the other 80% of my house, recently announced they were "adjusting" mortgages to fit people's income. They were going to take the principal down to 30% of the person's income so they could stay in the home. I felt that kick in the stomach feeling you get when you get horrible news as I read that article. I didn't have to leave Los Angeles, I just had to wait it out.

I often say, if you want fair, wait until the end of the summer. So I'm not going to scream at Bank of America, or send them nasty letters. It's a good business decision rather then evict people and try to sell houses. The numbers make sense, they are better off adjusting mortgages then flooding the market with properties in a climate where they can't lend people money to buy them. I'm all for good business decisions. I can live with people being evicted.

Harsh as it sounds, it's true. I sympathize with the renters who paid rent and then the landlord defaulted on the mortgage. Somehow they committed theft and should be brought before the courts. But the owner occupied properties, well you kinda had it coming. The mortgage is a simple financial instrument that has been around for decades. You put money down, you buy a house and make payments for 20 or 30 years that are fixed monthly. Your taxes and insurance go up with inflation but the mortgage stays the same. No brainer, our parents did it. Their parents did it. You knew better but chose to ignore it. It was the greed of wanting a better house then you could afford.

My story is the path I took to get to my piece of the American Dream.

And I get to keep it.

iZoomZoom

2008-09-21T18:29:00.004-05:00

With daily commuting now a fact of life, it was time to bring a new vehicle into the stable. The Jeep Grand Cherokee had been relieved of duty earlier this year and found a new home. Horrible gas mileage and very little space made it easy to say goodbye. I should have bought a pick-up instead in February 2006.

I'm happy to introduce to you my latest addition, the Mazda Mazda6. (that's no typo, I'm not kidding). My new companion will be my primary ride to work and back, with the BMW filling in back up duties and for a change of pace. I really like the 635csi, but 17 mpg on premium is not going to cut it. Also, I don't want to run on the miles on a classic car. It was also like an insurance policy as well, certainly the BMW would break to the tune of $1500.00 or so if I had depended solely on it.

This is the Mazda6 sSport. (again, no typo!) A V-6 with a manual transmission, not an ordinary vehicle build, in fact it's no longer offered. I had to travel to Houston to find one and major thank you's to my friend Mike for taking me there and leading the way home. The car I found was in Alvin, TX pretty close to Galveston. I had actually found the car about 10 days ago, but all of Houston was a little busy last weekend. Alvin, TX is 64 feet above sea level, so no flooding and just a lot of wind damage. The dealership had just opened on Friday and I came in Saturday and picked her up.

So far it's a great car. It's still under factory warranty for another 14 months and 20,000 miles. I won't be able to work on it. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that. But the BMW and Mustang need plenty of attention. This car has always had great reviews as a sporty sedan. I had a similar set up in my 1993 Ford Contour SE with the V6 and manual transmission, but that combo has not been offered by Ford in a long time on a mid-sized sedan. I was looking at the Ford Fusion, but there was no manual offered on anything but a four and I'd have better luck trying to find Osama Bin Laden then a manual Fusion. I flirted with getting a 2009, but the dealer said a manual was an "order only" build. Me wait? HA! See ya.

Houston is recovering. On the way to the dealer we saw much wind damage. Office building windows were boarded up, power poles were leaning, fences were down, roofs were tarped and some structures had failed. There were many "four way stops" due to lack of signals. Everyone cooperated though. On the way home I had the "pleasure" of driving through a backed up sewer that was about 12 inches deep on the road. It did not smell nice.

There was one constant sign of damage throughout Houston that was unmistakable. McDonald's has several signs that were 400-500ft in the air. They are not very wind resistant as all over the city they were destroyed. I snapped a shot of one. Every where I went they were destroyed, even when nothing else around seemed damaged.

Tomorrow I break in the Mazda for commuting duty. Now I'll be Zoom-Zooming through traffic with much better mileage.

Next Door

2008-08-20T15:06:00.005-05:00

When one door closes, another one opens. They don't mention that sometimes the hallway is a long one. And this time it was. It's been over a year since my departure at Edmunds when my product was discontinued. During that time, I've gone back to school, upped my credentials, upgraded my house, and met some personal fitness goals.

The next door has opened and Sept 2nd I'll be returning to an office. No surprise, I'll be a Project Manager. Well I've obtained my Project Management Professional (PMP) designation and my Certification in Project Management from UT Austin, so I had better. All evidence that education does pay off. The most exciting part is that I'll continue to stay in the automotive data business. I'll be managing IT projects for Austin's homegrown automotive data provider, Digital Motorworks. I could not ask for anything better anywhere.

So life will change a bit for me and my boys. I've been home since December 2006. When I adopted my dogs, I was always here to be with them and play, let them out, feed them. The snuggle with me on the couch for my afternoon nap. But now I'll be gone for most of the day so to accommodate them, I've installed a "doggie door". They can come and go as they please, although they have not figured that out yet. Baxter took to the door instantly but only when I told him to come in/out. Logan is a little more timid about it. In good time they will get it.

Tomorrow I head out to see my parents for a week. It will be a while before I get vacation time to see them. Then a few last days of goofing off here in Austin and prepping the dogs and the house for my no longer being around as much as once was. I'll miss being master of my own schedule for sure.

But when you do what you love you never go to work. Looks like I missed out on working again.

Express Myself

2008-08-10T21:50:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago I received a big envelope from our local Triple A baseball team, the Round Rock Express. It was a little suspicious as I had not asked for anything from them, nor was it addressed to me. So I opened it. The handwriting was pretty bad on the envelope so I know why it came to me, the house number and zip code matched.

It was a batch of tickets for a local Girl Scout Troop to have a evening watching a game and camping out on the field at night. Well not wanting bad Girl Scout Karma, I called the team and spoke to Gregg Miller who was wondering what happened to the tickets. He made good to the Troop and the tickets were replaced. For my efforts, he gave me four tickets to the game of my choice.

The game was today and I took my friends with me. Unofficially it turned out to be the hottest day of the summer, with highs hitting 104. Not sure if it made it or not, but it really didn't matter. There was a good breeze and cold beer so all was well with the world. When you sit down, 104 is not bad with a beer in your hand.

It was fun, had not been to a baseball game here. The stadium, Dell Diamond, was really nice. There was a lot to do and of course a lot to eat. When you think Triple A, you might think of wooden bleachers and stale hot dogs. This was not the case, it was a much smaller stadium, but as nice as the big league parks I've been too. Of course being in Round Rock, the people were nice and polite, kids were running everywhere, and the parking was only five dollars. Life here is easy.

Last month Money magazine named Round Rock, number seven on it's best places to live and I can see why. Having lived in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles, life is pretty easy here. Kids leave their bikes in the yard at night and they are there in the morning. Sure, the stores close at 10:00 and funky/interesting is 12 miles away in Austin.

I'll take it.

Dog Daze

2008-07-30T18:55:00.002-05:00

It's another day of 100 or near 100 degree heat here in Austin. While the days are hot the mornings and nights are very comfortable. It's just about four in the afternoon when it hits the high for the day.

Usually those two are out playing in the yard, but it's just to hot during the day. They don't want to play even in the AC of the house. They usually camp out in my office but apparently it's a bit cooler in the bedroom. I caught them out cold in their beds this afternoon. It's funny how animals know how much to eat for the exercise they are going to do. It's so hot they only eat once a day now.

As for me, well I painted more of the living room and part of the upstairs hallway. Summer in Texas is like Winter in Buffalo, you just find things to do inside.

Hey Good Lookin

2008-07-22T07:24:00.003-05:00

In the rebirth of the Pony car wars, GM is last to the game this time. Their original answer to the wildly successful 1964 1/2 Mustang took a little over 25 months to bring to market. Ford launched the current Mustang in September 2004 and it was an immediate hit. GM's response will go on sale in the spring of 2009, a little over five years later. It's the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.

Camaro and Mustang started out very similar vehicles then diverged in 1970. Ford kept the concept of a four seater sports coupe that was a comfortable for every day driving and was a little more upright. Chevrolet sent the Camaro in the direction of the Corvette and made it low to the ground with a low roofline as well. It made for a much sportier and aggressive appearance at the sake of passenger comfort and outward visibility.

Sporty is wonderful but practical one out. The Camaro was laid to rest in 2002 while the Mustang lived on. Ford had consistently stayed with the it's original formula of a practical sporty car that everyone could enjoy. I grew up with one as my mother would drive nothing else. (Mini-van? Huh!) In her 60's, she still has a red Mustang coupe as her daily driver. And of course there is one my my garage too.

The Camaro is back and the world will be a much better place for it returning. As you can see, it's gone back to the original 1967 design theme patterned after the original Mustang. It's a beautiful car with great lines and proportions. The interior is a modern interpretation of the original and I love to see the ancillary gauges on the console as in the original model. A wonderful "surprise and delight" that sets the car apart from the pact. The Camaro has always made the Mustang a better car, and vice-versa. GM will pack some potent engines into everyone from the base models to the SS.

And the Mustang? Well just you wait until 2010.

Eviction Notice

2008-07-12T08:37:00.003-05:00

I think you could call it one of nature's miracles. A little 10 lb, 10 year old, dog can keep two seventy pound dogs off of the couch. Poor Baxter and Logan ended up laying down clear across the living room. Ripley is very cute and cuddly, but Baxter and Logan might disagree. Funny how she can visit and take over so easily.

Maybe We'll Take The Car

2008-07-06T22:24:00.005-05:00

A good friend of mine works for an airline, fortunately it's Southwest. His job is secure and he's been there a long time. Southwest also hedged it's oil prices somewhere near $50.00 a barrel for another year or so. Don't quote me on that though. The point of the conversation we were having is that air travel may once again be not for the masses as it was pre-1980's when it was a luxury or a business purpose.

I didn't give it much thought. Then I went to price a ticket home to see my parents for a long weekend. The normal $400 fare was now $800. Plus fees for my bags, etc. I spoke to my sister today and she's flying to San Fransisco at the end of the month with her family. She's using frequent flier miles, and if she hadn't, $1400 for two seats round trip. Ouch.

Americans do not use all the vacation time there allocated each year. As a collective, we roll it over or cash it out. In the worst case, we just loose it entirely. It was fairly cheap to pack the kids up on a plane and shoot them off to some destination that took about half a day to get there via air. Maybe that's about to change.

There was a time when "Dad" took two consecutive weeks off of work and the family hit the highway to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, etc. Factories in fact counted on this and shut down for two weeks so everyone could go. Ford/GM/Chrysler still do this in July. Vacation was actually forced on you to take. Where or if you went anywhere was your call.

So $3200 in family airfare that was once $1200 may be a game changer. Those vacation days we didn't take could be days spent on the open road getting to our destination. These days though, cars have DVD players for the kiddies to pass the time. I myself love the Ford Flex as a road trip car. I can't resist a car with a fridge in the backseat. My BMW has one and it is handy in this Texas heat.

In about a year, we'll figure how this all plays out. For now, plans have been made and are set. Tickets were bought months ago for plane trips for the summer season. We'll end up not using all our vacation time again this year.

Next year, don't be surprised if the cubicle next to you is empty for two weeks.

Big Show

2008-07-04T10:18:00.003-05:00

I can't take credit for this photo, but I really like it. This was taken by my friend Bud who was also the captain last night for a late evening trip on Lake Travis. One of the popular dock up bars, Carlos and Charlies, sponsors a huge fireworks display on July 3rd every year. (well except last year when it poured everyday). We left the marina where Bud's boat is docked and headed out to a cove to settle for the show.

For about fifteen to twenty minutes we were treated to a fantastic display of fireworks over the water. There was a barge in the lake that the fireworks were launched from. It was quite a show and the sound from the explosions echoed through the hills around the cove we were anchored in.

It was a great night. Good friends, good beer and a big show in the sky.

Happy Fourth of July everyone.

Or They Can File Bankruptcy

2008-07-02T22:35:00.002-05:00

It's been another dour week in the domestic auto industry. Back on June 25, I suggested that GM and Ford abandon the North American market where their business model no longer works. My method was to issue stock for GM's and Ford's non-North American business where they are competitive. Bankruptcy could do something similar.

GM traded today at less then $10.00 per share. It has not traded like that since 1954. It's a big story but the year has nothing to do with it. Remember basic business and accounting, the company's stock price is taking the number of shares and dividing it up by the value. There were fewer shares in 1954 then there are today. So the company is not worth the same price as it was in 1954. But it makes for good headlines.

However GM's North American operations are essentially worthless. Same with Ford. Chrysler was worthless last year when it was sold off by Daimler to Cerberus. They actually had to pay money out to have them take 80% of the company off their hands. Cerberus is far more aggressive in slashing models and finding business partners to divide up the company's assets. Again, Chrysler will be sold as a distribution channel along with mini-vans and Jeep to a Chinese maker to get them into the US market. Chrysler/Dodge have no product that anyone is interested in anymore in any great volume.

If GM files for bankruptcy, Ford will have to follow suit. Why? GM's cost structure would change radically with canceled and re-negotiated contracts. Bankruptcy makes it much easier to shed factories, union contracts, excess dealers, retirees, etc. There is no way for Ford to overcome that cost advantage without having parity with General Motors. Bankruptcy by GM would be a nightmare for Cerberus.

Simpletons say, "They weren't building fuel-efficient cars, it's their fault!" Well, you weren't buying fuel efficient cars, were you, American public? GM and Ford build fantastic and stunning fuel efficient vehicles throughout the globe. Products you would say "huh!?" Ford makes that? Yes they do, and they are best selling, award winning, etc.

And they are coming here, if Ford and GM survive. It takes less then a minute to change the price at the gas pump. Re-tooling an assembly plant and setting up a supplier base, well...

BTW, Ford of Europe has announced it will be unveiling the 2009 Ford Fiesta Diesel with a 1.6 liter engine at the British Motor Show next month.

It gets 62.5 MPG on the highway.

Good Flex

2008-06-29T16:09:00.005-05:00

With a little hunting on FordDirect.com you can find which Ford vehicles are in stock at your local dealership. If they are actually at the dealership is another story. For the past two weekends, I've tried to find a Ford Flex as I've wanted to see what they ended up looking like when the factory cranked them out. My local dealer, MacHaik Ford had several but they were MIA except for the one locked up in the showroom. Blue Laws keep dealerships from selling cars on Sunday here in Texas.

No luck there. Thankfully for the price of a fast food "kinda" Chinese lunch, my friend Mike carted me around northern Austin looking for a Flex. Luck would have it that our second stop, Leif Johnson Ford, had four Flex vehicles on the lot. It was 95 degrees outside so we found the two closest to where we could park his truck. Blacktop and Texas sun do not forgive.

I'm impressed as I was the first time I saw a prototype. It looks great and like nothing on the road. Yes there are design elements and cues from other vehicles but nothing like this total package. I do have suggestions if you are thinking of ordering one. Go for the 19 inch wheels and skip the roof rack. It's very sporty looking and looks like the perfect road trip mobile. It looks big but really it's not, however the packaging is excellent.

Would I get one? Yes. What would I order? Hmm. I would pass on the "Limited" model and head for the SEL. Definitely add the SYNC($395) system. The fridge ($860) in back is a must have in my opinion. (Nothing says "hah hah" like pulling up to the car next to you and having a creamsicle) But you need the captains chairs ($770.00) to get it. I'd pass on the two-tone roof for that. It's 34k MSRP as I want it and with Dad's discount (thank you!) I'd pay a smidge over 30k. Despite being a sales success, come December there will be a $1500.00 rebate on it.

For the ultimate road trip/dog mobile, it's not a bad deal.

A Big Idea

2008-06-25T21:30:00.003-05:00

I read everything automotive I get my hands on everyday. You know that.

Well there's not a lot of great news coming out of Detroit these days. To no ones surprise, trucks are no longer hot sellers. Trucks have large profits on them and small cars do not.

Let me back up a second there. It costs more to develop/build a small car then it does to build a car big. This is in proportion to the price and size of the vehicle mind you, and the target market. But stay with me here. If you need a transmission and you have 30 inches to make it, that's simple. When you need to take that transmission down to 22 inches, then things get expensive with engineering and development. Same with the brake booster, etc. It cost more money to engineer things into smaller packages. It's also easier to install them when you have plenty of room to move around. It's like putting furniture in your house. The bigger the room, the easier to fit the furniture.

All the parts of a truck are in a car, for the most part. But there is more real estate to work with. Granted the vehicle is bigger and there is more materials involved. But really a Ford Focus and Ford F-150 aren't that far apart in raw material costs considering the MSRP differences. Building the F-150 is much easier too. Meanwhile Ford may make up to $20,000 profit in a well equipped pick up and $500.00 on a well equipped Focus. Now you see why we have such a problem.

Making up the difference in selling more of the Focus is not going to make you money. But please go out and buy the Focus in the record numbers that it is now selling in.

Ford and GM can sell all the small cars they want but still not make it here. And no one really buys their small cars anyway. Their best small cars are tucked away in other countries and with the weak dollar, you can't bring them in here and make money. The are very competitive in other places, but not here.

So the big idea. Is it time for Ford and GM to say goodbye to the US market? Spin off the foreign brands and issue stock for them? Let the North American operations go into bankruptcy? Sell off the truck lines to Caterpillar et all? (the non-commercial market is abandoning trucks like a house on fire). Assets if any for sale in bankruptcy court to divide amongst the creditors. A company could be set up to manage parts and warranty. It's not that un-real to imagine.

There would still be a GM and a Ford. (Chrysler is going to die and it's distribution channel sold to the Chinese sometime soon, I swear) But no more Ford and no more GM in America. Maybe their foreign brands could come back at another time, or not. When you think this is crazy, IBM of all power house companies abandoned the personal computer market. General Electric is no longer going to make appliances. Imagine that news back in 1950.

Corporate HQ would leave the US for both companies and set up shop somewhere else. Collectively, would we really miss them? I can't wait for United, American and Delta to finally fold up shop so I can stop reading how their business model is broken and they can't make it work. The same with GM and Ford, the media hates them. I do mean hate.

It would truly be the end of the middle class if it were to happen. The middle class was largely brought about by unions and the industrial age. People who labored for decent wages on a daily basis. The non-unionized service sector emerged in this country and their lower wage tier priced them out of union-made goods. They dislike unions because of the high wages and crazy work rules that they don't enjoy.

As we make our decent back to a two-class society, maybe it's time to wave goodbye to two of the few remaining icons that brought us the third class.

Car and President

2008-06-22T18:25:00.005-05:00

Well, you saw it here first. Today Car and Driver arrived and of course I tore through it immediately. On page 40 there was a chart of the all the political candidates and their vehicles of choice. Of interest was of course Barack Obama and his reference to the Ford Granada. I was flattered they used the same photo I did in my post from May, That 70's Car. Lee Iaccoca, in photo, was president of Ford Motor Company at the time of the launch of the Granada

Saving you from buying your own copy, here's my synopsis with editorial remarks.

Barack Obama: Traded in his Chrysler 300C for a Ford Escape Hybrid. Apparently "Yeah it's got a Hemi" does not sit well with some members of the Democratic Party. Of course they noted his dislike of the Ford Granada.

Hillary Clinton: Ford Escape Hybrid. Although, rumor has it she has not driven since 1992 making this irrelevant. Once during an alternative fuel vehicle press conference she was invited to drive one of the experimental vehicles on hand by the President of GM. She replied she had not driven in many years and maybe this was not the car to start back up with. She chose wisely, those prototypes are worth millions. Hubby (another non-driver) has the Mercury Marinier Hybrid pitched by Mercury hottie Jill Wagner. No further comment.

John McCain: 2006 Cadillac CTS with optional 3.6 V6 engine. General Motors A/C can freeze meat in Arizona during August. Cadillac is as Republican as Montana. At least he chose the smallest model.

Adios Vonage

2008-06-18T18:12:00.009-05:00

Many of your received a pre-mature e-mail last week about my decision to leave my 310 phone number and go exclusively with my cell phone and VOIP/UMA service from T-Mobile. The dates I was told never held and finally today the 512 was fully ported over to my cell phone.

Apparently this was a problem with Vonage and their delay in releasing my 512 number to T-Mobile to complete the port. I'm not surprised when I phoned Vonage to cancel my account, it was nearly a 12 minute phone call with the rep offering many solutions for me to stay a customer. Of my three years with Vonage this was the worst experience I had, saying goodbye is hard to do for them. I was satisfied with their service, but technology marches on and so must I.

So goodbye to my deskphone. And the matching cordless. Off to the closest of still-good-yet-obsolete-electronics with you. Cordless being a interesting term as you look at all that is required to have a VOIP speakerphone with cordless extension.

Anyone need a VOIP router?

Dog Daze

2008-06-15T21:54:00.003-05:00

It's 100 degrees here today. It was 100 degrees yesterday. And tomorrow...

Yes compared to last year's very very very damp Spring, it's been a bit toasty here in Austin. Sleeping has indoors has become a favorite past time for everyone here at the Jordan residence in Round Rock.

Baxter has a new bed. For some reason his bed was getting torn apart in the middle of the night. I woke up to the sound of chewing and Logan was pulling his bed apart. I don't know if it was sibling rivalry for having a comfortable bed or not. I found a similar sized Bevo bed for Baxter. He's not sure what to make of it.

Whatever he first thought of Bevo, eventually he realized it was better then laying on the floor.

Farewell

2008-06-14T08:34:00.010-05:00

There was something amiss yesterday afternoon. I caught up with an old friend who I had not seen in months at my favorite hamburger stand. We had a great time and shared a few laughs. By about 1:30pm it was no longer all good. With this lunch running long I had to cancel a coffee appointment with my friend Vern so I could make another appointment with my friend Sam about a job I was interested in. I'm never late and I don't cancel appointments. My lazy Friday afternoon socializing had come undone.

I was darting through traffic while the air conditioner on the BMW was struggling to keep up with this 100 degree Texas Spring day. My Blackberry was lying on the console under the emergency brake when it chimed with a text message. A quick glance down and I paid no further attention, it was from Meet The Press and every Friday they send me a text with Sunday's line up. Nothing I can't catch up with later.

Tim Russert was dead.

There are people in my life that I've always admired from afar. After so many years you develop a personal relationship with them, you look forward to seeing them or reading about them as if they were family. These relationships endure as you have a respect for the person and their professional existence. Tim Russert was such a person in my life. I'll never see him on Sunday mornings again.

I've always been a news junkie. I love to follow politics. In elementary school I was disqualified from current events contests in class as I would consistently win. Each day was filled with an hour of news. That has carried on into my adult life as well. I feel lost if I don't know what is going on.

Every Sunday it has been Meet The Press for as long as I can remember. I picked up watching the program post college but I'm sure I caught episodes while in school. Tim Russert has been the only moderator I've known as he picked up the spot in 1991. At first he was just the host, but the more you watched, it was clear the show was his.

Maybe it was the Buffalo connection, but I have these feelings for others that are not from there. Tim was a quintessential Buffalonian. Proud working class Irish Catholic family where the children please their parents by working hard and getting farther ahead then they were. But not forgetting where they came from. Like most of us from Buffalo, we leave the city and region to establish our professional lives. Our parents stay behind, as his and mine have. We visit and wish they were closer. We sit there in silence at the airport gate while we wait to board our planes to other places.

I understood him and maybe he would have understood me. I love the hypothetical question of "If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?" Tim was easily on my list of people. As well as many of his quests. I can't imagine what dinner is like with Mary Matalin and her husband James Carville. They were frequent guests on the show. If you know who they are, you'd want to sit in the car with them too when they are lost and without directions to their destination. Now that would be fun.

As I waited for the garage door to open I picked up my Blackberry off the console to check my messages and find out who was going to be on MTP on Sunday. The message was simple. Confused, I ran upstairs to my office to read MSNBC. It was everywhere and Tim Russert was indeed gone.

My Sundays will never be the same.

Cartman News Network

2008-06-12T08:28:00.008-05:00

I'm a news junkie without a doubt. I hit the major news sites multiple times a day to catch up on what's going on in the world. Yesterday I had to take pause at what was the most likely the most immature headline I had ever seen from CNN:
Incest dungeon girl reunited with family

The date line for the story was 12:40pm EDT on 6/10/08. I refreshed the page this morning and it updated to something better:
Incest dungeon teen wants to see ocean

Was this written by a 4th grader? This is CNN, not News of the World. Incest Dungeon Teen? C'mon.

In contrast, MSNBC carried the same story with a different headline:
Austrian dungeon captive reunites with family

A far better, classier, humane headline for a story so horrific that we cannot phathom what this person has been through. We're angry. We're sad. Whatever is going to happen to these victims?

MSNBC chose to side with the young woman. Referring to her as a "captive", which she was. CNN choose to give her a label, "Incest Dungeon Girl/Teen".

It's the end of the school year. Hopefully whoever writes these headlines for CNN will be held back for another year of 4th grade.

Twenty Years Ago Today

2008-06-11T08:16:00.005-05:00

I'm horrible at remembering things like this, thank you Jennifer for the text message this morning. Today is my older sister's twentieth wedding anniversary. Yes this photo was taken twenty years ago today. Happy Anniversary.

It was 1988. My brother-in-law and I had hair. Jennifer's hair didn't dare touch her shoulders or her electric-blue bridesmaid dress. Her hair is well past her shoulders today. Mom's shoulder pads were so wide Joan Collins was green with envy. Dad's hair was jet black, it's not that any more. However he still has more then I do.

Twenty years is a significant milestone, but I find the more interesting story is that my sister and her husband met when they were both 17 on the first weekend of college. They have been together ever since. This fall their oldest daughter starts the same college, SUNY Geneseo, and will be 17 as well.

Will lightning strike twice?

That Ole Ripley

2008-06-09T08:35:00.003-05:00

Small dogs were never of much interest to me. Having grown up with St. Bernard's that were nearly as big as me, what's the point of a dog if you can't tackle it? No doubt I like to roll around and play with my dogs, and they are built to take it.

Over the past week I've been watching my friend Mike's dog while he has been away on vacation. I've known Ripley for over a year now and we've gotten to know each other. Mike wanted a dog but was constrained to an apartment size dog 10 years ago when he bought her. She's a mixed breed of Rat Terrier and Chihuahua. Despite her age, she's pretty feisty and active.

She does have a temper for sure. Last Christmas while watching her, she bit my mother who had never been bit by a dog in her 29++++ years on this earth. All ten pounds of her keeps Baxter and Logan off the couch. God help you if you try and take her food away. Like all dogs, she does have her soft snuggly side. And she certainly fits better on the couch next to me compared to Baxter and Logan.

I'll take my big dogs anyday, trust me. But this one's always welcome to visit.

Something Old, Something New

2008-06-08T09:30:00.006-05:00

Today I say goodbye to the big white box on my desk. It has been there in some incarnation or another since I was 18 and had my first phone line at college. The land line phone will soon be gone. Land-line sorta phone, I switched over to VOIP about three years ago and went with Vonage. This is by no means a hit at their service, it's been flawless. And if you need VOIP, I'd recommend them.

But I no longer need them. My long-time cell phone carrier, T-Mobile, has lowered the price of HotSpot@Home service to $9.99 a month. So I now have unlimited calling at home over my cell phone when I'm in range of my new T-Mobile/Linksys router. I was paying $24.99 a month, $32.00 w/tax, for Vonage unlimited. With the savings I upgraded to the new Blackberry Curve 8320 and opted for e-mail service on my phone. Just getting more for the money and I'm still ahead.

310 will be no more come 6/13. I've had that number for longer then I can remember, and it's hard to say good-bye to. I wonder what lost phone calls or test messages I'll miss from people trying to catch up. I get them every so often and it's great to hear from an old friend. To make things easier on everyone, I'll be porting over my 512 number to T-Mobile so it won't be that drastic of a change. On 6/14 all text messages will have to be sent to my 512 number.

By-the-way, I've been with T-Mobile for so long as their service is excellent. And today they did it again. Of course I'm on a Mac so I had to call in to have them set up my router. Audry my representative was excellent and took my step-by-step through the process and without fail, it worked the first time. Kudos to her and T-Mobile for being so well organized.

Something new, and excellent service too.

Time For A Brake

2008-06-07T11:11:00.007-05:00

As I'm writing this blog, Hillary Clinton is giving her concession speech and about to endorse Barack Obama for President. For some this brings closure to a long campaign for the Democratic nomination, but for many like me, it's the end for our candidate. Hillary may endorse him, and that's fine, but I'll make up my own mind. And it's not made up yet.

During lunch with my friend Sam last week, he brought up an interesting point. While I've always identified myself as a Democrat, I actually may be an Independent voter. The appeal of (old) McCain and Hillary to me is they tend to be more centrist, at least that's my perception of them. "Hope" and "Change" tend to be more idealist themes and I see that as far more toward the extremes then pitching down the middle. I could be wrong. I often am.

So this morning I myself conceded that the BMW needed new brakes. Well actually there's a light on the dashboard that tells me that. I knew this was coming and thanks to mom and dad, they supplied me with new brake parts for my birthday back in March. I think a brake job is an easy sell to the parents for a birthday gift, or any gift for that matter. Turns out I only needed pads and not the rotors too. Oops. Sorry! (Rotors last forever on the shelf and I'll have to replace them eventually)

I've decided to post a few pictures of what a brake job looks like. Not very exciting but I did want to be sure and post the last picture. That is the picture of the old and new pads side by side. People ask me car questions all the time, so here's what used up brake bads look like next to brand new ones.

Brakes a expensive to fix on a car, but for little reason really. It took me about an hour to put new pads on. If I had a garage, it would take me less. They are very simple and to add rotors would be no more then another 15-20 minutes for the fronts. Brakes are expense because they are an emotional piece to the car. You need brakes to avoid personal injury to yourself and others. There's a price premium on that. If you find a brake job that is not that expensive, it may not end up being a bad deal if all you need are pads. All pad replacements do not require rotors either. Ask to see a set of old rotors next to the new ones to determine the thickness of them. Never go for the cheap pads, they squeek.

So look at the bottom picture and remember it next time you're told you need brake pads. Brakes start wearing out the day you drive the car off the lot at the dealership. You need to make the decision with your garage as to when you feel the need to replace them and always ask to see the pads. Visually compare them to a new set.

That's my PSA for the day. The More You Know...

Done Deal

2008-05-19T20:34:00.003-05:00

Ok it's done!! Yeah!!!!

The tile is done in the kitchen and the baseboards and trim are painted. The floor is clean and the kitchen is habitable again. You don't realize how much you miss your kitchen until it's gone. So nice to have it back.

Muchos Gracias Senior Kurt for coming over today and helping me paint. I was going a bit stir crazy. The Behr paint I originally bought was not very good, we stopped by Loew's for some Valspar and with one coat, it covered. No more Behr paint ever again.

The dogs love the new tile floors. It was nearly 100 today and they stayed very cool when I would let them in that is.

Dog hair and wet paint don't mix.

Almost There

2008-05-13T10:11:00.004-05:00

At 9:48am this morning I finished the last of the grout that I needed to put down. Just a few quick shots, now I need to clean up the tiles and put the new baseboards on. Many thanks to Mike for coming by last night to help with the grout.

Point Of No Return

2008-05-10T22:40:00.003-05:00

There comes a time in a home improvement project you reach the point of no return. That moment came today when I ripped up all the linoleum flooring in the kitchen. It does not come up in one piece that you can put back down. Think of trying to re-wrap a present you've ripped open with the same paper. It's not going to happen.

So the final stages of tileapoolza begins. It's the kitchen/pantry/laundry room. Many thanks to Jeremy, Jason and Ryan who assisted this morning with the appliance removal. And hats off to Ryan for ripping up the biggest piece of linoleum. I think it was the proudest moment of his life.

It's almost 11 pm and I'm pooped. I had planned on cutting and setting all the tile today, but it's not going to happen. There's no race to get this done and tile is permanent and so are your mistakes. So I'm going to shower and hit the sack.

I'm pooped.

That 70's Car

2008-05-07T08:26:00.007-05:00

Lee Iaccoca and Barack's Unloved Ford Granada

And just as I was warming up to Barack Obama...

From the Detroit News May 7, 2007
"The car I learned to drive on was my grandfather's Ford Granada. ... It may be the worst car that Detroit ever built," the Illinois senator said in an interview with Indianapolis radio station WFBQ. "This thing was a tin can. It was during the '70s when oil had just gone up, so they were trying to compete with the Japanese," Obama said. "They wanted to keep the cars big, so they made them out of tin foil. It would rattle and shake. You basically couldn't go over 80 (miles per hour) without the thing getting out of control."

Oh, now it's personal.

First off, Detroit was not competing with the Japanese in the 1970's. They were still a blip on the radar screen at the time. The benchmark compact at the time was the Volkswagen Rabbit. Americans ate them up so much VW built a plant in Pennsylvania to build them here. (It was later sold to Chrysler). We were also still in love with the VW Beetle. Japan was coming around the bend, but would not hit their stride until the 1980's.

Most every car we can remember from the 70's was crap. Cus we can remember them. Compared to today's cars, every car from pre-1994 was crap. A computer from the 80's is crap today. Technology marches on, and it does come in bigger packages and smaller one's too. Cars are built with evolving technology in metal/plastic/design/manufacturing/electronics... etc. I could go on and on here. Tomorrow's cars are going to be built better then today's cars are, and so on.

I own two iconic cars that had their platforms and sheet metal launched in the 70's. My e24 88 635csi was originally launched in 1977 and my 1990 Mustang GT was launched in September of 1978. Both cars are iconic in that they are the primary two coupes of that period that maintained their basic sheet metal through their entire runs. The 635csi from 1977 to 1988 and the 'stang from 1979 to 1993.

Build quality? Undeniably polar opposites. Price, just the same. In 1988 my BMW cost about $49,000 and my Mustang GT would have run you about $15,000. Twenty years later, the BMW is built like a tank and the doors close with a beautiful thud like the day they were new. The Mustang, more clank/thud. The leather and trim in the BMW, amazing for a 20 year old car. The Mustang, well I had to redo it all. Both cars have about 113,000 miles on them too. One month of Mustang production was more then one year of BMW 635Csi production. So, in 1977 my BMW cost about $23,000 and Barack Obama would not find it a tin can. Other then that, most cars of the time were about $5,000 to $7000 and he would find them very much at tin can. Too bad he did not have a BMW to learn to drive in.

Ford/GM build what America wants. Dell builds what America wants. McDonald's cooks what America eats. It's our free-market economy and until the government says otherwise, we decide what to buy. Ford could not take a stand of not making large SUV's if America wanted them. GM would be glad to build America as many SUV's as we could grab. Ford's shareholders would scream bloody murder and put someone in who would build SUV's. Who are the shareholders of Ford and GM? Why most of America. These two corporate icon's are largely held by institutional investors, ie your 401k's, mutual funds, pension plans and so on. Their profits end up in your portfolio one way or another. Two large companies cannot sit down together and come up with product plans, that's collusion. Like many American corporations, they get short sited by quarterly profit reports to please Wall Street, honestly we're all to blame here folks.

Picking on Ford/GM for 70's cars is about the lowest hanging fruit I can possibly think of, even worse for someone who aspires to be president and they need to win Michigan. And on top of it, you got it wrong. And why are you going 80 mph when the national speed limit was 55 mph? Why are you taking a machine that was made to go 70 mph and complain that it doesn't feel good at 80 mph? My mountain bike is great up to 20 mph, but I sure as hell don't want to be on it at 40 mph.

You almost had me.

Blog About A Dog

2008-04-06T22:18:00.004-05:00

ok, again nothing earth shattering going on these days. I waxed the BMW and Jeep today after a four mile hike around Town Lake with the pups. Baxter was actually spooning Logan by the end of the evening. They do love each other. And that's exactly what I was going for.

So here are some cute doggie pics. It's not always I have my camera with me. These two guys were outside most of the day and were ready to crash. So I watched some tv and they joined me on the couch. I'd like to say it's the only piece of furniture they are allowed on, but they jump on the bed in the morning to get me up.

It beats the buzzer of the alarm clock.

Casey Jordan, PMP

2008-03-28T19:56:00.002-05:00

I'm too tired to hunt for a picture, so if I can't catch your attention with text, oh well. Next time.

Back in September I began the certification process for becoming a PMP, Project Management Professional. There are three requirements you must meet to obtain this designation from the Project Management Institute. First, work experience. Ok that's an easy requirement to meet. Second is education. Off to UT to accomplish that, done. Then comes the 200 question, four hour examination. Today I finished that. It's simply pass/fail. I passed.

I hate tests, always have, always will. I can write a paper whose beauty of prose will bring a tear to your eye, even if the subject is retirement planning. Projects, no problem. Tests, well... $#%@$#%^####$%@$%^&&&$%!!!!

Multiples choice was never like this. All answers are to be the BEST answer. Let me repeat that, the BEST answer. Oh, and you remember, out of four, two were easily dismissed and one was the best choice after logical deduction? Not here. Two or three are generally correct. I won't even get started on what the math portion is like. But you can imagine how the test sadists toyed with that.

But it matters no more. The test is done, and it's forever. (Provided I keep up the continuing education) My eyes are tired. My formerly hunched shoulders are tight.

Off to the hot tub, for it's a good night.

Pure Energy

2008-03-03T23:32:00.008-06:00

Wind chill factor is not something that's normally brought up in Central Texas, but it sure was the topic of conversation this afternoon. My friends Kurt and Gary, along with yours truly, braved the elements to attend Hillary Clinton's last rally before Super Tuesday number two. It was 50 degrees outside but with the wind blowing the wind chill was down to the 40's. We waited outside for an hour.

The line stretched out for quite a bit despite the cold temperatures. I certainly had plenty of time to think about things while trying to use Gary's enormous shoulders as a wind block. On Sunday's Meet The Press it was clear that everyone expects Hillary to drop out if she looses Texas and/or Ohio. But given the spirit and dedication that this crowd was showing, I can see why she pushes on. It's not just her own ego, it's the support she receives. The conditions and wait made everyone uncomfortable, but the enthusiasm was still there.

Inside the venue was crowded and like a concert, there was a warm up act. No, it's not a cover band or semi-funny comedian. It's other Democratic leaders building up the crowd and selling Hillary. Selling her on many lines that she cannot say herself. But that's politics. Tearing the other person down and building yourself up. It's odd we don't interview for jobs like this, as the election process is pretty much a job interview.

No matter what you think about Hillary Clinton, she is a historical figure and it's always a experience to see someone of this stature in person. Television snippets only do so much. The roar of the crowd, the reaction of your bleacher mates and the energy are hard to duplicate. Television just doesn't do it justice.

So Hillary came on stage. She brought Chelsea with her. Along with Ted Danson and Mary Steamburgen. I don't know why those two were there, unless there's a demographic that they have undo influence on. Everyone left the stage and it was Hillary alone. Nothing new, I've watched the debates. I think I spent too much time trying to get a decent picture then listening. Drat my Nikon CoolPix for not finding a correct aperture and shutter speed for that location. I took 47 pictures and nothing really came out on all different settings.

Tomorrow is the "Texas Two-Step" primary voting. I have to caucus at 6:45pm as I have early voted. As they say in Chicago, "Vote early and vote often." Despite what you think about Texans, support for the Democratic Party does exist.

Lines to use the Men's room at a Hillary rally do not.

Extreme Makeover

2008-02-28T08:52:00.002-06:00

Tileapalooza has claimed it's third bathroom.

It's a lot of work, ugh. It took 14 hours just to cut the tile for this room as there are so many angles. It's a good thing tile does not wear out. The diagonal pattern makes things even harder. To further complicate things, no wall was 100% straight and each tile that needed to be cut was a custom cut. It's a lot of work but it looks really nice.

For some reason I can't find all the pictures of my house I took, but I did manage to find this one from the day I decided to buy it. This is what the master looked like before and after. Wow, what a change. The previous owner kept everything in great shape, but it was mostly builders grade materials. They held up well was a testament as to how he cared for this home.

But I've purged the house of most of the builders grade materials, ie. lights, flooring, paint. And it's paying off. Just like HGTV, here's an example of what you can do. Of course I did it myself. This room cost about $600.00 in supplies to make over like this.

My friends say I'm lucky I know how to do this work. But let me tell you after day three of laying on the floor caulking baseboards, you wish you were not so competent and could call in someone to finish the job. Am I proud of the work I did and doing it myself, yes. Though I think I'm more proud/surprised that it looks good when it's done.

I'm pooped on tile work. It will be a week or two before I take on the kitchen... maybe.

Mr. And Mrs. President

2008-02-17T20:35:00.002-06:00

No, I did not take this picture. You can Google Image search and find it. The batteries died on my camera. I did go see Bill Clinton speak last night at the opening of Hillary Clinton's Austin Headquarters. It was certainly an occasion for Austin. The expected turnout was supposed to be less then 500 but it turns out 1500 people showed up. I invited my friend Gary to go with me, and we made it in early enough to get in the building. There were so many people Bill Clinton had to give a second speech outside standing in the bed of a pick up truck.

It was more old school Bill Clinton that we had come to know. It was certainly a gentler Bill that many had seen in South Carolina. He played to the crowd and loved every minute of it. Say what you will about Bill Clinton, but he always loved being President and always loved being with the people. After his speech was over he entered into the crowd and spent a good 10 minutes shaking hands before heading outside to give a second speech. It was a long day for him, the first speech did not start until 10:00pm.

I had last seen Bill Clinton in person back in 1992 at the Chautauqua Institution when he ran for President. He gave a speech with Hillary, Al and Tipper. They all looked so happy. I still didn't vote for him back then. I did vote for Bush in 92 as he was very much a world statesmen and I thought that was important. But I was wrong, the world loves Bill Clinton.

He would shake a million hands for America if he had to.

Tileapalooza

2008-02-16T10:43:00.002-06:00

Seriously, that's what Home Depot calls a tile sale. I did not make that up.

It's raining this weekend here in Austin and it's very welcome. So no outside activities, the doggies are not subject to the 3 1/2 mile walk around Town Lake. They like the first mile, then they get tired.

I have three bathrooms and a kitchen that need new floors. While my home is only eight years old, the floors are needing some updating. All the wet areas have linoleum in various grades of quality. It's all in great shape for eight years, but tile to spruce things up a bit. I've never done tile before, so this is new to me.

If you hear cussing and screaming from Texas, you know who it is.

I Gotta Bone

2008-02-13T08:04:00.003-06:00

Today is the one year anniversary of Baxter's adoption. I can't believe a year has gone by, but the calender does not lie. Nor does the blog, as one year ago I posted his homecoming pictures. It goes without saying, but we've made each other very happy.

Last year he was a six month old puppy with a bad case of kennel cough. Like a little kid, his nose was running all over the place. When I picked him up, he weighed 48 pounds. Today he weighs 80 pounds and went to the vet last week for a full check up and immunization boosters. He's a very healthy dog and I'm very thankful for that.

As usual, today Baxter's jumped on the bed and gave me a good morning kiss. Logan is a bit bolder and jumps in bed and lays next to me. Today's treat for the both of them is a big bone to chew on. This will keep them occupied for hours and let me get back to school work.

A dog is a huge commitment. It's very daunting at first when you take one home. Somewhat like a child, you are responsible for feeding and caring for this animal for quite some time. After a while you get used to it and your friends expect you to leave the party early so you can let your dog out.

The love and companionship is more then worth it.

Play With Me

2008-02-10T11:38:00.001-06:00

I'm supposed to be writing a paper today. It has to get done today, it's due on Wednesday but I can't seem to get started. Hmm. I wonder why. Yes while dogs make wonderful companions, they do require a good deal of attention. I sometimes shoo them out of the house and into the backyard where they can play together. But that's not always what any of us need. We all need a little play time. It's often been referred to as "dog therapy". It certainly comes in handy.

But Baxter and Logan, I have a paper to write today. So outside you go. I'll make it up to you later. You won't let me forget.

Where Art Though Governor?

2008-02-08T07:22:00.000-06:00

I love politics. It so much fun, especially when you can sit on the sidelines and watch. Besides reading a ton, I never miss and episode of Meet The Presson Sunday mornings. Long-time moderator Tim Russert is a favorite of mine amongst Washington journalists.

To the surprise of many, including his supporters, Mitt Romney "suspended" his presidential bid. Why not just say, "I'm dropping out". I prefer declaratory statements versus the uncertain ones. I know it had to smart a bit, he spent a lot of his money to run.

It would have been easier if Mitt was the GOP candidate. I've always had a strong affinity for John McCain and the "Straight Talk Express". He was the first person I ever gave money too back in 2000 when he was running. He's been thoughtful enough to remind me of that in e-mails. I'll have to say, he's been sending me e-mails for eight years now. Very thoughtful of him.

From the start of the presidential race I've been behind Hillary Clinton for a number of reasons. She's a fighter, I'm a fighter. She's smart, I have moments of smartness. She's aggressive, I'm aggressive. Most of this can be said for John McCain too I guess. We like people that mirror ourselves. Yes there are the old "Clinton" days, but they weren't really that bad. I think we were mostly a content bunch during the 90's and Bill Clinton easily beat Bob Dole in the '96 campaign. Kerry nearly toppled Bush in '04, not a sign of contentment. On the Democratic side Hillary is still my candidate.

I get mad at Barack Obama for running in this contest. He's a such a dynamic personality and a great orator. He has the power of persuasion and he captures an audience. Why am I upset then? He really has not much of a record to run on in the Senate or from Illinois. He certainly wants "change" but I'm not quite certain what that is. If he said "I want chocolate cake", I'd know what he was asking for.

The United States runs fairly well compared to many places around the globe. Any new leader is going to bring significant change to the country. We weren't clambering for "change" in 2000 but we certainly were given it. He will get beaten up by John McCain, almost personally. Early in his senate career, Obama agreed to support McCain on a bill and with out any notice to McCain changed his mind publicly. The Irish never forget. Coming in second in a presidential race will end your presidential asperations. It would be very sad for such a promising individual who is so young.

Another interesting development. Where's the Governor? Mitt, you left us with out a Governor. How dare you. We love Governors! We think they make great presidents, as they manage little countries on their own first, then we promote them. Since 1976 we've had a present or former Governor in the race. No Governors in 2008 to pick from. Thanks Mitt.

Nuts About Lutz

2008-02-03T10:35:00.001-06:00

My latest read outside of textbooks has been Six Men Who Built The Modern Auto Industry. It's an interesting book about the six most influential automobile executives from 1970 to today. It's clear the author has one favorite and that is Bob Lutz, presently with General Motors. His first job happen to be with GM back in the early 60's, but he then went to work for BMW, Ford, Chrysler and now back to GM.

Last night I joined my friend Gary for a movie and he arrived at the theater in a beautiful black 2008 Cadillac CTS. Black is the only color they should offer on that car, as it's just stunning and works with every line and surface. I'm glad we waited until after the movie to go over the car or we would have never made it inside. Gary indulged me in a quick spin around the neighborhood by the theater. I've written glowing passages about this car and I still stand by everyone one of them. This is truly Bob Lutz's finest work. (Not that one man is solely responsible for a car mind you.)

Back to my reading. One of the chapters about Lutz discusses his time at BMW is the 1970's. This period was also the gestation time for one of my present rides, the E24 6-Series. Apparently Bob had penned the original concept of this beautiful car first, and left the final look to the design team. But certainly he put his stamp on the continuing development of the car. I just finished washing mine and taking it for a nice Sunday drive and I'm still very much in love with it. I've posted new pics on my Carspace.com page, the link is to the right of this column.

Bob Lutz's other significant vehicle I've owned is the Ford Explorer. He was head of Ford's U.S. Light Truck Operation during it's development period. His design influence made the Explorer more then an extended wheelbase Bronco II. By Making the vehicle wider and longer, he defined the SUV class as to what this segment should be. I personally had four examples of the first generation Explorer from 1991-2001 and it was the perfect trans-continental vehicle for one or two people. My father still has his 2000 5.0L V8 AWD model.

General Motors normal retirement age is typically about 65 or so, but Bob Lutz has blown past that. And it's for our benefit that he has continued to work into his 70's. If John McCain wanted another former military fighter pilot on the ticket, a McCain/Lutz run for 2008 would have a strong chance at my vote.

False Alarm

2008-01-10T17:15:00.000-06:00

Or Jeep Masters, Part II.

As per my previous post, I took my Jeep in to Jeep Masters of Austin last week for a new starter. Like I said earlier they gave my Jeep a now-complementary once over of all the things it needed. Like any car with 73k miles on it, there are things that need attention. I did receive a dire warning from the shop that my lower radiator hose was going to go at any moment and for $108.00 they would replace the upper and lower. The price was very fair, but having given the Jeep a once over recently I was suspect. I declined.

But they are professionals, so I headed over to AutoZone for new hoses. Boo Hiss to AutoZone for not carrying these common wear and tear parts. I had to wait for three days for hoses to arrive. (How many Grand Cherokees do you see in one day?) So today I ripped up my knuckles and pulled the hoses out, put new one's in, and flushed the cooling system. The last part was not required until 100k, but when does it hurt to do this early?

Getting the easiest thing done first, I replaced the upper hose, no problem. The lower hose, is not fun, but not impossible either. Much to my disappointment, my lower hose was fine. No dry cracks or striations from bulging. Once cleaned up it was hard to tell from new. While no hose lasts forever, this one was not going to blow. I would have driven to El Paso with a hose in this condition and not thought about it twice. I'm really not upset at doing the job, you do need to replace the hoses and belts on your car. I just won't be doing it later.

I love small independent shops. There were two that I used in Los Angeles that I swore by. Once was in Hawthorne the other in Hollywood. I send people there all the time when asked and I still have their numbers. I'm disappointed because I wanted this to be my Jeep shop. I understand every shop has to make it's money, but unwarranted scare tactics are no way to keep my business or earn my sought-after recommendation.

Catch-Up and Tune-Up

2008-01-05T15:23:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to everyone, I've been preoccupied a bit lately. My Mom came in from Christmas and we did a bunch of home improvement projects. I was stuck on colors for my laundry room and guest bathroom and she came through with some great choices. And she also painted the rooms for me! Go Mom! New Years was lame as I've been sick with the stomach flu for the past week.

Here a few Christmas shots of the kids (dogs) as it's all about them. They truly enjoy getting packages and playing with the boxes. I kid you not, Baxter and Logan took a box from the garbage in the backyard and tore it to shreds while having the time of their lives. Oh what a mess. Mike's dog Ripley stayed with me while he went home to his family and she was an absolute riot playing with this plastic bag of Milk Bone snacks. She dragged it around the living room until the contents spilled out. How resourceful. Of course Baxter being 90 lbs of pure energy he was yelled at a few times and took refuge behind the couch.

Austin today is incredibly nice for those of you freezing or my friends in California who are soaking. The forecast today was 75 and sunny. Perfect day to get outside and give the Jeep a tune-up. Earlier in the week I had taken the Jeep to Jeep Masters here in Austin to have a starter put in. No foul, they wear out over time and need to be replaced. I give mixed reviews to Jeep Masters, while they did a through review of my Jeep for problems they could fix, they attempted to charge me for the review itself. They were kind and took it off the bill as I had just asked for a new starter, however I opened the hood today and found they had not re-secured the air filter box when they opened it. Kinda sloppy, so the jury is out on them.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2008!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T09:08:00.000-06:00

I have not bought a Christmas tree in years. Generally I throw some ornaments on a terminally ill houseplant that I have spent the year trying to kill. This year's Christmas miracle surely has to be that this plant is alive after 12 months in my care. Nonetheless, I'll still try and kill it by hanging overweight ornaments on it. Someone referred to it as a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree". That tree was dead and brown, although this one is sure to meet the same fate in the near future.

I'm off to pick my Mom up at the airport soon. She's going to enjoy a week of 60 degree temperatures, which will be double of what Buffalo has this time of year. I've long since forgotten what it's like to have snow at Christmas.

Merry Christmas and safe travels to all.

300

2007-12-16T17:29:00.000-06:00

It's a great bowling score. A decent car from Chrysler. A movie about warriors. And now it is officially my maximum bench press.

Some people run, some people lift. I don't run, well. I lift far much better and genetically that's what nature intended. Not that I can't run, about six years ago I was running five miles a day, three times a week. My body and mind hated every step, but I could do it. I'm in awe of people that can run marathons or cross-country. For the record though, I did run the Peachtree 10K when I was 25 and I still have my number.

Three hundred was a particular number of pounds I wanted to bench press by Christmas of this year. I hit it a week early after a very botched attempt last week. A shout out to my workout partner Vern who kept my chest from being sliced in two. I deviated from my usual warm up and I paid for it. Today he spotted me as I benched 300 pounds three times with no assistance. It may sound somewhat of a meathead thing to do, but I'm going with what I'm good at. And for the record, my blood test will pass Congressional scrutiny.

Back in 2004 I was not sure when my future held for upper body weightlifting. I had torn my rotator cuff and split a tendon during a rugby tournament in 2003. My surgeon, Dr. Christine Ekstrand at UCLA Medical Center said the best I could ever hope for was 90 percent recovery for my shoulder. That was the best, the most likely was 70 to 80 percent. She must have been a better surgeon then analyst as today there is no difference between the left and the right shoulder. ADI Physical Therapy in Hollywood deserves credit as well. I never missed an appointment.

Now that I've met this goal, I'm not heading any higher. I will stay at 300 and get more reps. Increasing weight is a slippery slope and every joint and muscle on my body works fine and I'd like to keep it that way. In case your wondering, the only supplement I take is amino acids. Any nutritionist would probably label my diet as "somewhat crappy", and with the donut intake I'm not going to argue. I tip the scales at 220 pounds.

This month marks one year in Texas. And everything is bigger here, including me. Must be something in the water...

Mr. Beef and Pizza

2007-12-09T12:46:00.000-06:00

Brrr. I think that's the best phrase to describe Chicago in December. It certainly was appropriate last Friday as I flew up there in the morning to meet my friend Mike who had taken an earlier flight.

Now a week ago, I had no intention of heading to Chicago in the late fall. Mike had purchased a 1988 Pontiac Fiero and was going to drive it down it back to Austin. I said I'd watch his dog to help out. Last minute plane tickets to Chicago were not in my budget and while I'm a generally helpful person riding 18 hours or 1170 miles in a two seat Fiero is not the first thing on my list of things to do this month, or even year. The weather forecast was calling for snow though, and at a Christmas party last Saturday, my friend Gary offered up a free plane ticket. Mike has never driven in snow. I'm from Buffalo. Say no more.

It's important to have goals and Mike's has always been to own the car of his high school dreams, a 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT. A few weeks earlier he had found one on AutoTrader and it's a gem. In immaculate shape, this 20 year old car has only 30,000 miles on it. But it was in Chicago. Sounds crazy to some, but remember six months ago, I bought a 20 year old BMW is New Jersey and drove it back to Austin. So I did all I could to help.

We arrived at the dealership and it was all that the car promised to be in the pictures. The friendly folks at Muller Pontiac in Highland Park had the paperwork ready and within 45 minutes we were on our way. With the weather threatening to turn horrible, we made plans to head South that day rather then do some Chicago sightseeing. But first we need lunch.

Quintessentially Chicago, I headed for Mr. Beef and Pizza in Mt. Prospect. Turns out the downtown location that I once lived a few blocks from had closed. I'm sure it's footprint is now a condo structure. Mr. Beef and Pizza did not disappoint, and we were so lucky as to have won a free hamburger for our next visit before 1/8/08. Luck would hold out for the rest of the trip back to Austin.

I decided our road names for this trip would be Mr. Beef and Pizza. Me being the beefy Irishman, I got to be Mr. Beef by default. Mike was Pizza. He's not even Italian, but actually more English. If we could have found a Mr. Beef and Shepard's Pie, things would have been pefect. Hmm. No such luck. At about 2:00 pm the dynamic duo hit Illinois' I-294 and headed South.

Mike was not interested in driving in Chicago, so I took the helm despite the clear roads. The sky did look like it was about to open up into a snowstorm, but we made it out of Chicago to I-57 without a drop of anything from the sky. Illinois is a very long state and we made it all the way to Marion and spent the night. The next day we drove about 14 hours straight and made it back to Round Rock about 10:30.

I was surprised at how well the Fiero had help up over the past 20 years. There were no interior rattles, the engine ran great and the car tracked straight forward. I would like to say everything worked well, but there were a few things that needed attention. I'm certain there's a small vacuum leak that's keeping the cruise control from working and the engine surging slightly at idle. Pop-up headlight always fail and sure enough, in Sulphur Springs, TX after dinner we suddenly had a Fiero that was winking at everyone. Any 20 year old car is going to need repair as I assured Mike who was having a minor melt down. Part of owning a classic car is fixing your classic car. The only guarantee you get with a 20 year old car is that you're going to have to fix it.

Day three of Mike's Fiero ownership did not start out well. On the way back to the airport to retrieve his truck, we ran out of gas. Oh, I guess the fuel gauge needs some attention too. This unhappy Mike photo was taken on 183 here in Austin. We don't normally stop next to run-down trailer parks for photo shoots. No thanks to AAA of Texas, after 90 minutes of not showing up to give me a gallon of gas, Mike walked over to the gas station that opened at 10:00am and bought a gas can. We were back on our way. Tripple A receives a tripple F for service as my original quote was for no longer then 45 minutes. I don't think I sold Mike on the AAA membership but an auto club membership of some kind is quintessential when your car is out of warranty.

In the end, all's well that ends well. We're home, the Fiero is in one piece. And my hot tub is waiting for me.

Wrapping Things Up

2007-12-06T16:26:00.000-06:00

No, it's not Christmas wrap either. Today is my last day of classes at UT for my Certification in Project Management. Unless I do something incredibly egregious I'm going to pass this course and receive my certification. However, I'm no slouch. Next month I start finishing up my Certification in Human Resource Management, but that will be online learning.

No more drives downtown to UT. I will miss going to class that's for sure. We had a great group to work in and our presentation on Monday went well.

Now to celebrate with a weekend adventure... Stay Tuned!

Year One

2007-12-01T16:21:00.001-06:00

One year ago today I closed on my house. The picture on the top is from my first blog entry. It was taken by the realtor when I was looking at my house. I took another one today, wow the trees have grown. I guess that three feet of rain and fertilizer sticks really did their job.

Nothing eventful to report lately. But thanks for checking in... :)

Improved Home Improvement

2007-11-27T12:13:00.000-06:00

Just a bit more housework going on lately. Nothing too crazy but coming up to my first anniversary so I'm going to spruce the place up a bit.

Sometime ago a I ranted about an awful experience I had a Lowes. Well they have redeemed themselves. A few weeks ago they had an incredible appliance sale on Maytag. When I mean incredible, I do mean incredible. After selling my old appliances, a new dishwasher, stove and over-the-range microwave set me back less them two fill ups on a pick-up truck. I kid you not. And it was all their middle grade appliances too, not builders grade. Since I can install appliances myself, I really cleaned up. Delivery was free too. Nice.

Well all was not well Sunday night when I attempted to install the last appliance, the Range. The rough in specs were 30 inches. No problem, the builder who built my place left exactly 30 inches to install a stove. The width of one Maytag stove? Exactly 30 inches as well. Not believing my eyes, I measured again and again. It would not budge. The tale of the tape measure does not lie, that range was not going to fit.

According to Lowes website the range is 29 7/8 inches. If it were, it would have slid in nicely and I would have posted this a day earlier. With receipts and tape measure in hand, off to Lowes I went. Here is the incredible part. I arrived at Lowes at 10:00 am Monday morning. At 11:12 am, the same morning, I waived goodbye to the Lowes delivery guys who dropped off a new upgraded Frigidaire range. Of course we made sure it fit before they left.

Without any fuss or muss, Amanda and I walked over to the Maytag range in the store and she agreed. It simply was replaced. Such service is typically reserved for Nordstorm shoppers, not mass market home stores. Amanda's manger of course received a nice letter. With their price matching policies, I'll never need to shop for appliances anywhere else. And I won't.

When you come to visit next time, the first thing you'll see is my new front door. A DIY design on-a-dime project if there ever was one. Just cruising through craigslist I found this front door that was sun damaged. It was originally stained, but there was no way it would ever be stained again with the sun damage. It could be painted however! Coffee Bean from Eddie Bauer Home, thank you. Some new door hardware and mounting adjustments and I was set. Much improved.

So there it is. Come knock on my new front door and I might just might cook for you.

New Truck, Blue Truck

2007-11-13T08:45:00.000-06:00

I never turn down someone's request for help in buying a car. I know there is so much to think about and the vast vault of automotive knowledge in my brain needs to be tapped every so often or it will burst. This time it was my friend Mike's turn to suffer through my exhaustive download of automotive information.

So here is his new truck. He's happy and I know his mom is reading this now. Yes you'll see it at Thanksgiving.

In a watershed moment for Ford Motor Company, the last issue of Consumer Reports recommended the F150 due to it's strong record of reliability for the present model. Of greater shock was that they did not recommend the Toyota Tundra due to it's numerous powertrain problems. Historically reliable Toyota has become a victim of it's own growth. It's not easy building that many cars and getting it right.

Thanks to my dad, Mike enjoyed a steep discount on his truck with Ford's Friend and Neighbors program. If you're reading this, you're pretty much my friend I assume. This program is also known as the X plan. A few of you have taken advantage of this and if you haven't hit me up. The plan is basically 91% or MSRP and all incentives are included. At times there are additional incentives for X plan buyers, such as the additional $500 rebate that Mike used on his truck.

Keep in mind I'll talk to you about any car and you don't need to be buying a Ford. But of course I'll strongly suggest it....

Hook 'Em Horns

2007-11-12T07:54:00.001-06:00

This was meant to be yesterday's blog but the arrival of my niece pushed it to today. Being a non-Texan by birth, I would say that the arrival of a new niece is more important then football, but the natives here might argue that. It's my call and Chloe wins.

Everyone knows about Texas and football. Not having attended college here I landed in Austin without an allegiance to any team. I have friends who went to A&M as well as UT and whoever took me to a game first, I would pledge me support to that team. Last Saturday UT won my affections thanks to Mike. Go Longhorns!

I've been to numerous professional football games, but never to a college game. And certainly not to a college that takes it's football as seriously as UT. I thought that going to a school with a big football team would be fun, but the majority of the 84,000 in attendance were not students. It's not cheap to go to a game, even for students. I think the lure of the big school athletics like UT is the lifelong affiliation once you graduate and can afford the price of admission.

It was a perfect day for football. The weather was cool and there was a bit of a breeze. Prior to the kickoff, we spent a few hour tailgating in the parking lot with Mike's friend Terri. What a spread she put out. I think she was the belle of the LBJ Parking lot as her tailgate party had LIVE satellite television. We watched A&M loose to Missouri. Several other less fortunate tailgater's crept over to watch the game with us.

Once inside the stadium it was a sea of burnt orange. Last fall when I bought my house I was in Sears looking for a new washer and dryer. I came across a set and exclaimed to my salesperson, "Who buys a pumpkin colored washer and dryer?". I had so much to learn.

UT won and it was a great game. They handily beat Texas Tech, and everyone in the stands was polite to our guests from the opposing team in my section. The half time show was actually interesting to watch as both marching bands took turns on the field. There was plenty of tradition although I failed get a look at Bevo, the UT mascot.

There are two things Texas loves. It's football and itself. I've been told many times by natives, "There's Texas and there's not Texas".

And they're right.

Oh Baby

2007-11-11T10:56:00.000-06:00

She's here! Yesterday my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Chloe Elizabeth Santoro. Mother and daughter are doing fine after an intense 17 hours of labor. She's a few weeks early but she's still 8 lbs. Not a bad size and thankfully she arrived when she did as if she stayed full term, she may have hit the double digits which is common in my family.

She's adorable and perfect. I now have four nieces and one nephew. You can count on more baby pictures to come in the upcoming weeks.

Blow Hard

2007-11-07T15:53:00.000-06:00

Here's Big Red, my new favorite toy. No shop is complete without an air compressor to inflate tires or remove those unbelievably tight and difficult suspension bolts. Not to mention brake caliper bolts too. Nothing like a good impact wrench to take your lug nuts off without hurting yourself.

Mucho thanks to Mom and Dad for the early Christmas present.

Last week i picked up the new front springs to my 635CSi and met a set of unweilding brake caliper bolts while trying to remove the front strut tower. The car has about 110k on it which means it's had about two brake jobs in the past 19 years. Those brake calipers bolts have not moved since daytrading was an occupation. They are very happy where they are but I need to change that.

But not today. I've inflated the tires a bit and played with all the accessories. Hats off to the guys at Home Depot for being so helpful. I hit the guys up at the contractor desk and they could not have helped me more in picking out the right model and the correct nailer for the woodworking jobs I have planned for my house. I know I usually slam Home Depot, but these guys were great. You bet I'm going to fill out that survey at the bottom of my receipt.

I can't stop smiling and playing with it. I've properly inflated the tires on all my cars. The difference between men and boys certainly is the size of their toys.

Candy Land

2007-10-31T22:44:00.000-05:00

I think I did ok, but it sure has been a long time. When I was 10 years old my family left the suburbs for rural living. There's not much trick-or-treating when the houses are miles apart. Since then I've lived in apartments and condos mostly. I did live in a house in the Hollywood Hills for several years, but on a street that's at a 20% grade and with thirteen steps up to the front door deters even the most avid trick-or-treater.

Now I live in a subdivision with about 600 homes, and there are families everywhere. It's my first time passing out candy and I guess I did ok. I went to Target yesterday and bought two big bags with 102 pieces each. I don't know why it was 102 versus 100. I did substantial product testing and found the candy was suitable for distribution to the children in my neighborhood. The bulk of the activity was between 7-9pm and there's about 30 pieces left.

All the kids dressed up and their parents stood at the end of the driveway as their kids made their junior attempts at door-to-door salesmenship. However, it would take the coldest heart to refuse a child a piece of candy on a night like this. The costumes were the usual timeless classics like Spiderman, Batman, Hobo's.. etc. And the most popular costume of the evening?

Every girl is Daddies' little Princess.

Hello Again

2007-10-24T15:01:00.001-05:00

Just a quick news flash. My new cell phone arrived today, so you can resume using that number and my home number will once again bounce to my cell. Text messages return!

Not a great advancement in technology, but it's a Treo 650. I was all geeked out about the iPhone when it arrived and was sure I would get one. I am an early adopter of some Apple products, ie. Mac Mini and Powerbook. However I'm not really pleased about Apple's iPhone price reduction so early in the launch and on-again, off-again third party application lockout. Early adopters are your best customers and it's not the way to treat them. Also, I don't like being forced into AT&T as my cellular provider. I'll pick, thank you.

So I'm staying with T-Mobile for now. The new phone works great according to my first callers. TTYL!

Under Contract

2007-10-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

It was a year ago today I first stepped foot into my house. It was not the first I had seen it as there was an extensive website with tours, photos and floorplans. I think I had spent about 30 minutes in the house before I decided to make an offer and go under contract. In the three prior times I had done this, the decision was about 30 minutes and there were no regrets. When it feels right you know it.

Moving to Austin was not a hard decision to make. Buying a house involves a series a large checks to be written and I didn't flinch once. The decision to move had been part of an on going conversation with friends of mine. My friend Jason had left So Cal shortly after I did. Our time was up.

I love my house. It's something I would not have had there. A year ago I wondered what I would do with 1900sf all to myself. I seem to have filled it up nicely except for one bedroom which remains empty. I may never use it while I live here and a three bedroom house may have been better suited over a four, but I like the floorplan and the option of having that extra room.

I know not everyone wants to own a home. They are a lot of work. Los Angeles is not a bad place if you want to rent. There are an enormous amount of rental properties available and laws that are tenant friendly. Texas is more landlord friendly. While the market there has slowed a bit, it' has not fallen off the face of the planet as some might have expected it too. It's still a struggle more most people to buy a decent place in Los Angeles area on a single income. My house in Round Rock would be about $900,000 in El Segundo.

There are other benefits as well. I can commute to UT in the city from the 'burbs in about 20 minutes to get to class. I can get just about anywhere in 20 minutes for that matter. There is no general angst about getting in the car and going somewhere. You'll get where you need to go, no worries.

And yesterday I jacked the BMW up in my garage and removed all the wheels and cleaned them in my driveway. My two dogs were playing in my backyard. That's priceless.

Damages

2007-10-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

I don't watch much series television. So when I do, I'd like to think it's significant to me at least. Over the past 12 weeks there has been one show that I have not missed an episode of and I thought I'd share it with you.

FX's Damages appears on Tuesday evenings and it's marquee star is Glenn Close. The story revolves around her law firm and an attempt to settle a class action suit against Ted Danson who plays an Kenneth Lay type of character who's company took a dive like Enron.

There's murder and plot twists. You never know who to trust and neither do the characters. It's well written and shot. Glenn Close is great. The show is shot in NYC but makes no mention of it or uses the city's landmarks. Rather then Toronto passing as NYC, NYC is passing as any western city. There's a twist in its' self.

This Saturday FX is running a Damages marathon. If the weather is unpleasant where you live, I'd recommend catching up. Tuesday 10/23 is the big season finale where all the story lines are supposed to be wrapped up and I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Cold Front

2007-10-17T07:33:00.000-05:00

Fall and a nice cold front is beginning to settle into Central Texas and it's more then welcome to stay for a while. Nice cooler temperatures recall lazy Sunday mornings when you can't seem to get moving. I don't mind, one of my favorite programs comes on at 10:00 am, Meet The Press

This Sunday's topic was off the usual political path and the guest was Bill Cosby. Yes that Bill Cosby, the Jell-o pushing loud colorful sweatered man who has made us laugh for generations. If you've kept up with the 'Cos lately, he's not a laughing man anymore. He's distraught with the status of African-Americans in the United States. I could regurgitate the somber statistics but they're of no surprise to anyone.

While it's early in the race, we are tracking to elect the first female president of the United States. Barak Obama may be extremely competent, but it's hard to beat Hillary's experience and the war machine on her side. The two candidates though could be poster children of equal rights and the progress and lack thereof we have made over the last century.

If equal rights were a horse race, woman would be back in the barn getting brushed down while race relations would be still out on the track. Woman have not had an easy run of things but their message hits close to home. Most every home for that matter.

Woman did not make it to where they are today by hunting elk while wearing burlap underwear. In general, they still like pretty things and have softer pursuits. And all that is fine. The startling realization is that woman are fundamentally different from men. They have different physiology, thought patterns and interests. Race on the other hand is primarily a difference in skin color. So why are we still so far away from racial equality?

Home is where the heart is. It's hard to look someone in the eye across the dinner table and tell them they are inferior. It breaks their heart and if you have one, yours too. While it will never happen, a law requiring us to partner up with someone of a different race for the next 100 years probably would solve our racial problems. It's crazy idea anyway because love is what love is. But it could possibly work...

Lying next to someone in bed inherently makes them your equal. If you didn't agree, the next cold front could be the one coming across your pillow.

A Different Light

2007-10-16T17:36:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I complained about too much light. I feel like I have a direct connection to mother nature or something like that. There was no sun today. At all.

So what to do? Like the kid in a candy store I headed to Lowe's and went on a landscape frenzy. I planted nine grass plants and five crepe myrtles in my back yard. Everything was 50% off, so I made out like a bandit. Done by three, the landscape plan for the backyard is nearly complete and well under budget. No sun and 70 degree weather meant I didn't even break a sweat.

But who cares when I can take cute doggy pictures instead. I know you could care less about what my backyard looks like. I get many more comments about doggy pictures anyway. So with today's overcast lighting I broke out the camera for a few more shots. Today they are in a larger format so you can click on them to make them bigger.

The biggest challenge today was not breaking through the limestone in the yard. Try getting two dogs less then 13 months old to look into the camera at the same time...

Baxter's BFF

2007-10-15T16:34:00.001-05:00

It's been a week and I've shown great restraint in posting adorable puppy pictures. Obviously things are going well. Baxter and Logan are inseparable. Both of them play constantly together and enjoy the other's company. In one of the cutest things I've ever seen, they have pulled their beds together so they sleep right next to one another. Logan's only thirty pounds so he has taken to sleeping on my chest while I watch tv. What can I say, I'm a softie.

I can't hold out much longer, so here's some pictures. My house is not the greatest place to take photography. If I use the flash, the dogs end up with devil eyes. On the other hand, my house has an abundance of large windows and it's always bright in here so things are washed out.

Next time I'll venture outdoors with the camera.

Secret Admirer

2007-10-11T22:44:00.000-05:00

I'm smitten and I feel guilty. I can't hold this in any longer. I'm in love with the new Cadillac CTS. Ok, it's not a Ford or Lincoln. I'm not normally a huge GM fan, the last car I liked and owned that was from GM was my 1984 Pontiac 6000STE. It was a great car and they had not made one as nice since. (I may be exaggerating here) The new Cadillac CTS has my eye and I can't seem to let go.

I'm a sucker for an aggressive front end on a vehicle. Hence my 635CSi, which was nicknamed "The Shark" for it's "get the #$^&##! out of my way" look in your rearview mirror. The present day Dodge Charger has a menacing looking front end as well. The new CTS has a front end that recalls a Burlington locomotive bearing down on you. I approve.

The whole look has the car moving forward even when it's standing still. The front quarter view from either side of the car emphasizes the rear track that is wider then passenger compartment. This gives the vehicle the athletic look of broad shoulders. This car looks like it was made to dance when the road says, "let's tango".

The interior does not disappoint. It's very modern and nothing like in another GM products. The dashboard comes from the same supplier Mercedes uses. The radio is not something available on any Impala or other bread and butter product in GM's stable. Cadillac is something special again and GM has spent the money to back it up. The Escalade may still be a tarted up Tahoe, but the CTS is it's own dog. It doesn't share it's body panels with anyone.

If this all sounds like I'm gushing, well no apologies. Remember, I'm smitten.

Rental Star

2007-10-11T12:31:00.000-05:00

1981 Lincoln Town Car

2008 Lincoln Town Car

I often think it's best described as the car we love to ride in but few of us would care to own. It's taken me to the airport countless times and when I've landed, I've grabbed one to cart me around at my destination. It hauled my older sister to her wedding as it has done for thousands of brides since 1981. The answer to this riddle is Town Car.

Town Car has been such a part of our lives since it's birth in 1981 that I've long ago dropped adding an article in front of it's name. A reliable relative to borrow or take us to somewhere eventful in our lives. A faithful friend. As comfortable as our living room sofa. As safe as the vault at the bank we leave our treasures in.

Our friend is dying and deserves some last respects. For 2008 Lincoln has not discontinued Town Car but it's apparently an "order only" vehicle and fleet model. Order only means that they will not build them to sit on the lot for walk up customers. They will build you one but you have to ask for it. Town Car will be available to fleet buyers (rental cars/livery services) as it always has been. And they buy the majority of them anyhow. It's the beginning of the end.

Once an aspirational vehicle, Town Car has now just become a work horse. Very sad indeed as what other car has had the chance to impress so many people. Especially people with money. Lincoln will introduce a new flagship vehicle later this year named the MKS. It's big, based on the first Volvo S80 platform that now builds the Ford Taurus/500. It will be front wheel drive/all wheel drive and have only a six cylinder engine. Not the robust V8, body-on-frame, rear wheel drive vehicle that has made Town Car the darling of the livery crowd.

I'm sure the MKS will be a better vehicle in most every way. However it will never have the cache as saying "they sent a Town Car to pick me up".

Black And Tan

2007-10-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's pick up of Logan went off without a hitch. Hats off to the staff at Town Lake Animal Shelter for another seamless adoption. He was fixed in the morning and ready for pick up at five in the afternoon. After a long ride up MoPac in rush hour traffic he was at his new home in Round Rock.

As per proper protocol, Baxter and Logan met in a park in the neighborhood. I introduced them there and then walked them back to the house. Introducing a new dog to a house with a resident dog is supposed to be a traumatic experience for the resident dog. If this true I have yet to see it. Baxter and Logan have hit it off without a hitch. As for Logan, he's housebroken, well behaved, slept through the night and gives Baxter a constant workout. I think he actually may end up being the dominant dog of the two. Baxter is constantly engaging him in play. Logan has already started eating Baxter's food. I think Baxter is going to have to learn to eat when his food is put down or else. Although he could stand to shed a few pounds I think.

It appears to be a good match, but then again time will tell. Surprisingly Baxter is not jealous of the affection. Having been just the two of us so far, I thought he'd intrude when I pet Logan. No such thing so far.

Race To The Finish

2007-10-07T17:04:00.000-05:00

So here's my new dining room set. It's all in position now in my dining room. I'm very much into symmetrical placement of furniture and this piece fits perfectly. My dining room is basicaly a square and while there is room for a china cabinet and a small table, it would not be centered on the window. That would drive me nuts. So instead I opted for a large 60" table that can seat eight. Round tables are nice for entertaining as you can make the most of the surface area and you can make eye contact with just about everyone. And there is always room for one more.

I found the table on Craigslist, as many of you know my favorite furniture shopping place. This is a nice old set with a beautifully carved pedestal. The top was damaged so I purchased a new one and stained it to match this weekend. I've never stained furniture before, but if you do recall from a few months ago, I did stain my deck. I'm utterly amazed at how easy it is to stain a piece and achieve beautiful results. This is my first crack at staining furniture and I may be hooked. Not that it did not take some time. Each coat took four hours to dry and I did have to put three coats on to match the pedestal and chairs. After the final coat of stain I had to wait eight hours to put the polyurethane coat on. Four hours later, it was a second coat of polyurethane and now it's finished. In twenty-four hours the last coat has set.

Just in the nick of time. Tomorrow my Project Management class is meeting here at six pm; twenty-four hours from how. I had committed to having everyone over last week for a group meeting. Now they have somewhere to sit.

You're The Other One That I Want

2007-10-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

Now that it's official, I'd like to introduce to you my newest buddy, Logan. It's very clear that Baxter is a active social dog and I need to find him a playmate. Now that my time at home is not what it used to be, I have to think about Baxter and finding him a companion. Baxter's been a great companion for me, now I need to find one for him.

So it was back to Town Lake Adoption Center where I found Baxter last February. I've been looking over the past week and interacted with a few dogs. I did find a nice German Shepard mix that stole my heart, but the choice was up to Baxter (for the most part) and he immediately took to Logan. Logan is a four month old Lab/Golden mix that was abandoned and left in an apartment for a week when his owners moved out. He does not appear to have any socialization issues though as this trauma happened early in his life. With Baxter and me, he'll have a structured home environment and constant companionship. Not to mention food, water and an abundance of snacks.

The bummer part is that Logan needs to be fixed. I was hoping to have him this weekend, but that will not be the case. Monday at five in the afternoon I can pick him up and bring him home when he has recovered. I'm sure I'll be there a few times this weekend to play with him a little bit more.

More unbelievably adorable puppy pics to follow...

Highly Trained Professional

2007-09-25T10:58:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I'm off to take another computer learning course. This time it's advanced Microsoft Project 2003. Having taken beginning Microsoft Project 2003, this seems like the next logical step on my Project Management career path. I'm taking this course at New Horizons learning center here in Austin and the instructor is excellent.

Of course I'll get another certificate. This will be a "Certificate of Completion". I can add it to my other certificates with such titles as "Certificate of Accomplishment", Certificate of Achievement" etc... I'm a professional pack rat and save most things that have pertained to my work experience such as performance reviews, kudos from the boss, and the results of those personality tests. Oh yes and these certificates I was supposed to hang in my cube.

Going through them has been a fun trip down memory lane. According to the the certicates on the wall, I am quite a talented person. The Coast Guard says I can operate a boat. If your house is destroyed I can tell you how much it will cost to build a new one and how it should be built. I have permission to adjust insurance claims in the State of Texas. If I suspect you're committing fraud, I can investigate you. And of course if your car is mangled I can put it on the machine and realign it and calculate your bill.

Some of these certificates were earned by simply reading a book, others took weeks of training. For now, I'll put them back in the drawer and save them for another day. Unless of course you have twenty extra frames you're not using....

Take A Hike

2007-09-22T13:23:00.000-05:00

It's the last day of summer and we're going out baking. The high today is 94 and it's probably going to be one of the warmest days of the summer. Austin and Central Texas had an unusually cool summer due to the rains, but no one is complaining. In the next few weeks things will cool down and life outdoors will be habitable.

Early in the morning Baxter and I took a nice lap around Lady Bird Lake. Lady Bird Johnson was instrumental in developing the three mile hiking/walking/biking/running trail that loops around the lake, or slow moving portion of the Colorado River. As it actually is a river, you need to take two bridges across when you do the full loop. The weather did cooperate and there are many shady portions of the trail to keep the sun off. At most points the trail is about 10 to 15 feet wide which may have been nice about 20 years ago, but it's clearly too narrow in spots for all the traffic lapping the lake now.

Baxter was pooped, while a playful dog, he's accustomed to short spurts of playtime followed by napping. The long walk wore on him for sure. At one point under a bridge there was a shallow spot for him to take a dip. He's so comfortable in the water, he actually just sits down. I've never seen a dog so content to be in the water.

I really think I need a pool.

Back To School

2007-09-21T11:12:00.000-05:00

Yes it's back to school time. I've decided to pursue my PMP in project management. Oh yes, what does PMP stand for? Project Management Professional. Yes I had to look it up too.

So yesterday I began my first class in a one semester program. I've been back to school in the last sixteen years and taken classes to brush up on some management skills, mostly at UCLA while I was in Los Angeles. Post graduate education with working professionals is much more fun then sitting in a class room with people who may or may not use the course in real life. Everyone is much more vested and the war stories are much more interesting. Instructors are usually working professionals without PHD's or even Master's Degrees for the most part. Real people who teach based upon their years of experience.

Looking back at college I don't recall much of the same experience. Most everything was theory and most of my business classes were taught by Phd's. The one instructor I bonded with was the accounting professor, Christine Taylor. She was a CPA for what is now HBSC. I loved her instruction, it was very real. None of my journalism classes were taught by journalists, I think something was missing there.

At the end of the semester I'll have my Certification in Project Management from The University of Texas at Austin. After that I have to apply for my PMP designation with the Project Management Institute. With my work experience in the past, that should not be a problem, the only obstacle could be the 200 question multiple point exam. I know how much I love testing.

I just wish it was 20 years ago when I could count on my parents for a new back-to-school wardrobe.

The Tell-Tale Tick Tick

2007-09-19T14:41:00.000-05:00

It started with a tick-tick sound when I would turn the wheel. Next, I lost the use of the highly addictive steering wheel radio controls. Finally it was the chime of the air bag indicator every few minutes with the warning light glowing on the dash. Part number 56042770AD, the clockspring, had failed.

Like the flasher that broke earlier this summer, this is another black dot on the electrical system of my Jeep Grand Cherokee. More disturbing is this is the second failure of the electrical system that controls a safety feature on the vehicle. I'm not sure how long clocksprings have been in cars, but the earliest reference dates back to the original telephone about 1875. Surely we must have mastered this technology by now.

Thanks to the internet I was able to quickly find others who have had the same problem. Diagnosis was easy and off to the Jeep dealer I went to pick up the necessary part. $109.00 later I was back in my airbag-less Jeep headed for home. A quick trip to AutoZone for a two-leg puller and I was in business.

While I was growing up, we mostly had used cars despite my father's employment at Ford Motor Company. All cars break. All parts have a finite life expectancy. Nothing lasts forever. I'm sure my father and I would have had a much easier time with car repairs had the internet been around while I was growing up.

Also while growing up my father turned his back on luxury items such as power windows and seats as "that's just more to break". Rather ominous from a man who's occupation was to build vehicles. However my father's seven year old Explorer does have such hedonistic items as power windows, door looks and (gasp) a power seat. All were working last time I checked. But his basic electrical system has gone to on hiatus a few times over the last year too. I guess we could have had power windows growing up after all.

Not one to take this lying down, I have reported both failures to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They have a form you can fill out when you have a safety related problem with your vehicle. I have reported both and included the part number. Curiously enough, Chrysler had to recall one million minivans for clockspring failure. If there are enough of us to file, hopefully the vehicle will be recalled and I will be reimbursed for the parts.

In the automobile world these days, safety sells. Confidence that your safety systems will work however, is what keeps them coming back.

Make A Wish

2007-09-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend the Texas Classic Car Show hosted it's sixth annual meet at Rudy's with the proceeds benefiting the Make-A-Wish foundation. The weather was perfect and it was a well organized event with shuttle service to a remote parking lot. The set up was unsegmented which works for a 300 car show as there's time to see everything. Larger shows have Fords in one section, etc. I like the smaller unsegmented shows as you never know what you'll see next to that classic Mustang. I thought Make-A-Wish was very appropriate charity as I often go these shows saying "I wish I had one of those.."

I went with my friends Richard and Mike, and I was asked the usual question. "If you could add one car to your collection from here, what would it be?" Car people are always asked this. Based upon what I have now, I would like a 60's American luxury sedan. One of the most iconic vehicles of that time was the Lincoln Continental. It's clean lines and smooth sides were the polar opposite of the garish Cadillac's and Chrysler's. Lincoln was about style and Cadillac was about big. Oddly there were no Lincolns at this show.

That car will have to wait. I have no more garage space and they just don't build garages in this century for sixteen feet of car.

I Need Attention

2007-09-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

In case I'm chatting with you on instant messenger and suddenly I seem to disappear, this may be the problem. With camera in hand, I have documented my distraction. With unrelenting zeal, Baxter requires attention now and then. He seldom takes no for an answer. The more I push back the more he pursues this.

The second picture is a well documented example of his favorite trick. When I'm typing and won't acknowledge him, he uses his snout as a lever to push my hand up and off the keyboard. He's a very smart dog.

He's maturing nicely and mellowing out a bit with some very puppy moments. This week we are going on a nice three mile hike around Town Lake. At the end, someone is going for a swim.

Hopefully it won't be me.

The Perfect Getaway

2007-09-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

I'd like to say that I'm in the picture above, but even if I said I was, you'd be hard pressed to figure out who I was. Therefore I did not pay $24.00 for a picture of myself rafting down the Arkansas River. You'll just have to imagine me on the raft.

This weekend I headed to Denver to catch up with a friend and go white water rafting through the Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River. It was a great four hour trip with class four rapids. We had raft full of friends and we all made it through without going in the water or driving our guide to drink. The water was cold and the first splash definitely wakes you up. Surprisingly we did not wear wet suits as I did when I went down the Kicking Horse River in Alberta a few years ago. You did not want to end up in the water on either river. Brr.

The trip took us from Denver to just south of Colorado Springs. It's about a two hour drive from Denver, but we broke it up with eating both ways. The road trip was fun too, Jordan's friend Greg from Australia provided some entertainment when we said, "last night I went to the movies with two ducks." Ok, what he actually said was he went to the movies with two "Dougs", however with the accent it did not come out that way. Perhaps we had too much sun, but it was the funniest damn thing I had heard in a long time. Hats off to Greg for being a great sport and the kind of expat who is proud of his country but not afraid to laugh at the differences between us.

Denver is a nice city, but a big one. Commutes can last hours and it did take me nearly 50 minutes to get through security at the airport on my trip home to Austin. There is something to be said for living in a smaller city where it takes you less then ten minutes to get through inspection and to your gate. But the weather was mild and pleasant. Sunny and in the 80's, but cool at night. Sleeping with the window open again was awesome.

I'm still looking for that waterproof digital camera and you'll get more pics. My mom sent me a Ziplock bag, but that's not going to cut it. Nice try.

Twenty Years Ago Today

2007-09-04T20:10:00.001-05:00

Immediately after Labor Day 1987 I moved into my first address away from home. 312D Hendrix Hall, SUNY Fredonia Fredonia, NY 14063. Fortunately my parents were there to take this picture of me and my younger sister while I was unpacking. One item of note, that Porsche print is hanging behind my desk here in Round Rock. I've had it since I was ten.

I remember the day well. After packing the car I remember walking up into the back pasture with our dog Max and looking back at the house. I knew I would never live there again. I stayed in Fredonia for those four years, working summers and most breaks.

College was not going to be an easy proposition for me. Academically I was not a strong student. My parents had me pay 100% of my first semester as I was not a sure bet to make it through. I did and they funded 100% of my second semester. From there on it was 50/50 which I firmly believe is a sound proposition for any parent/child going through the college years. It was a vested partnership for both of us.

After the hike with all my stuff up three flights up un-air conditioned stairs. I was settled in. We went to lunch and I was on my own. The first suite mate to move in was Andy from Lake Placid.

And it goes on from there. A tale too long to tell on these pages. But you know how the story ends up today, twenty years later.

Dire Consequences

2007-09-02T19:54:00.000-05:00

How could I have ever let it get this far? Despite the five hundred renewal notices, I failed to renew both my Car and Driver and Automobile subscriptions.

Car and Driver and I have been together since I was ten years old. I've even been to their offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan. How did this apathy come about?

Honestly I'm not the only one. I don't think editing a car magazine is an easy task, but I would guess that is what drives readers to continue subscribing. I think the biggest problem is editorial inconsistency when it comes to reviewing cars. A certain car can be the the star of one edition and a dog only a few months later in a comparison test. Also, as per previous posts, testing every car as a performance model when it clearly was not intended to be that can raise a few eyebrows. The once latest hot new car news can now be retrieved from the internet daily making monthly publications less timely.

Yes buff books are dying off. If you didn't know it before, pick up an issue of Car and Driver today. You'll notice the dearth of advertisements buy such brands as Ford and Chrysler. In the past you could count on at least two ads from each somewhere in the magazine. I can't say I really blame them for looking elsewhere. Their products are usually panned in both magazines. When you spend the money to place and ad, are you going to put it pages from a review that disses your product? Certainly you don't have worry about that when you're advertising on television, radio or the non-automotive internet sites.

The slick car ads of the past have been replaced by sexual enhancement ads that we would have never seen before. It's sad to see heroes and legends fade to shades of their former self this way. I guess I haven't renewed as part of me can't bear to look. Like watching Farah Fawcett go from pinup to punchline, some things don't age gracefully.

But I know I'll renew. At $16.00 for twelve issues, it's not going to break me. I just wish my heart were in it.

Kayakity Yack

2007-09-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

Time to play a little catch up.

I've previously discussed how much Austin is a water town. And it really is true. Today I had the pleasure of touring Town Lake and Barton Springs by kayak. This mode of transport was new to me and it's a great workout. Had a fantastic time and looking forward to trying it again.

Town Lake is not actually a lake and it's actually no longer Town Lake. Lady Bird Johnson passed away last month and while she was alive she did not want Town Lake to be named for her until after her death. Town Lake is now Lady Bird Lake, it doesn't exactly roll off your tongue, but it does pay tribute to the woman who advocated the nature and bike path around the lake and many other environmental causes. The lake itself is just a really slow and wide section of the Colorado River.

Enjoy the post photo of the trip as I don't have a waterproof digital camera!

In other news....

Last weekend I jetted off to Tucson to catch up with some friends who were so kind to host me on my road trip to Austin from Los Angeles. You may remember that Tucson was my only overnight stopping point on the trip. I did not remember my digital camera while I was packing. Shame. While I was there I caught up with my friends and played in the pool. The University of Arizona is in a nice section of town, but for the most part Tucson is unremarkable. (Sorry Tucson). My friends are leaving at the end of the year and none of us will be running back there.

Baxter celebrated his first birthday sometime last month according to his birth records from the adoption center. He celebrated by learning to bark at me when he wants to play and I caught him lifting his leg on my shrubs for the first time. He's a big boy now, about 90 lbs.

As the rain stopped and the temperatures began to rise, I've turned my attention to the inside of the house. I've painted the guest room, kitchen and master bathroom. Previously they were builders grade flat white paint. Now they have some color. I'm painting a few more walls in the living room, but not the sixteenfooter that needs scaffolding. The pros will have to take that on.

Next weekend it's off to Colorado for some white water rafting. I have an abundance of free airline tickets and it's about time I used them. Again, I suspect there will be no photos due to the water.

Guess what I could use for Christmas....

Let Me Eat Cake

2007-08-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

I know it's been awhile again. I find myself doing interesting things that I like to do, but I hesitate to think that you may find them interesting. I've painted the master bathroom and the guest room. I'm in the process of picking out a color for the kitchen. It's finally hit the high 90's here temperature wise so I'm working on some projects inside the house.

My friend Richard was so desperate for a new posting that he promised me cake. How could I pass that up? He's darn good in the kitchen so he deserves a post and a picture of his creation. I left it in my Jeep last night and I can tell you there is nothing better then a car filled with the smell of cake. I don't think I'll be driving the BMW until the cake smell wears off in the Jeep.

I promise to post more often, though it may make for good bedtime reading if you can't sleep.

Tinker With My Blinker

2007-07-16T08:55:00.001-05:00

Cars, like dogs and people, get back at you. Make no mistake about this. Shortly after the Jeep was kicked out of the garage in favor the BMW, it revolted by knocking out the turn signals. I no longer had the ability to blink my direction when turning.

But I understand, I would not want to be moved out of the garage either. Like missionaries at my front door, electrical repairs are something I usually run the other way from. But what the heck, it can't hurt to try and as long as I don't get too deep into it, I shouldn't do any unintended major damage.

Online Jeep Grand Cherokee forums offered little help, but more on that later. It was there, all how you searched for it. When ever I purchase a vehicle, I immediately buy the Chilton or Haynes manual on how to fix it. Unfortunately, the only manual was a Haynes, and it was of poor quality. It was unanimously panned on Amazon.com and I agree. Chilton manuals are much much better if you can find them.

After much consternation in the fuse box, I pulled apart the lower dash and found the flasher that needed to be replaced. I pulled it out and ran upstairs to plug the part number, 4686094, in Google and see what came up. Sure enough, it was a corporate part from Chrysler and it's failing all over the place. I found many minivan owners who also had no turn signals either. Being a Chrysler only part, I had to wait until this morning for the dealer to open and purchase one. It was cheaper online but I didn't feel like waiting. $55.15 in parts later, I have turn signals again.

I do my best to plug the American auto industry, but it's moments like this where I have my doubts. This vehicle was $38,000 new and at 64,000 miles the flasher goes out and turn signals fail. Turns signals as we know them now, were introduced in 1938 by Buick. This is hardly new technology and such a rudimentary part should not fail during the life of the car. I often forgive such newer systems such as stability control when they fail as they are still in their infancy compared to other features. With 69 years of development, the turn signal should be damn perfect and last forever.

Fixing this electrical problem was a bittersweet triumph. I know how to fix my blinker and I know why people turn their backs to American cars.

Home Again

2007-07-13T16:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've made it home. No surprises, although I had expected a few. Taking a 1500 mile road trip in a 19 year old BMW with 108K miles on the odometer is sure to bring some surprises here and there. But it was flawless and I averaged 24 miles to the gallon.

I did give up blogging after a while. Loading photos on my parents computer and editing them was not going to happen. At least easily. After that I was on the road for a few days and focused on making it back to Austin.

I did spend a few days back at home in Eden, but I spent them with my parents. As I departed I did head over to the high school as I was going to do some car shots there. But as I approached, I decided not too. I really had no feelings that connected me to my high school, so I took off without a shot. Growing up in a very small town, high school was just a tool to get you to college. I don't recall anyone aspiring to stay around after graduation, and sure enough not many have. There were some fun times and great laughs however there was not much school spirit and the classes no longer bother to have reunions. Off I went.

So twenty years ago, I started college. It was on the way home and I always enjoy popping in for a visit. Going to college was a big challange as I was not an academically strong student. My extracurricular activities got me into college, not my grades.

I headed to the Campus Center to find the freshman orientation going on. My school paper, The Leader is still published there. As the photo editor and a writer, I spent many a long evening there working to make the deadlines. Also in the Campus Center was the bookstore, but it had moved to what was Cranston Dining Hall. All the visiting freshman had cleared out the school apparel though. It was good to walk around and I can't believe I found a poster hanging from May 1988. It was a copy of "Campus Voice ByWeekly".
From there on I headed to Columbus where my buddy Mark put me up for the night and took me to a great Greek restaurant downtown. We over ate though when we walked to a Cold Stone creamery.... After years of Mark visiting me, it was great to see him in his home town.

Picked up Baxter this morning, and he had the time of his life at the dog ranch I left him at. After ten days of non-stop play and being around other dogs, he's pretty much been asleep under my feet.

I love my new set of wheels. I'll post more about it later and take some pics when I have a moment to clean 1500 miles of grime off.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2007-07-05T22:12:00.001-05:00

It's been a long day but it's now mine.

It's great to pop in and see my family, but the chance to pick up a new set of wheels at the same time makes it all the better. This morning's travels started at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and ended this evening in Liverpool, NY at my older sister's home. Along the way I had a nice four hour drive in my new car.

It's easy and it's not easy to get around the northeast corrider by train. To arrive at Morristown, NJ from Philly, I had to go to NYC and change trains at Penn Station. All tolled there was about a good three hours of train travel that looked like 45 minutes as the crowflies. But it was fast and efficient as train service in the northeast generally is. I've always been a fan to taking the train as you get to look out the window and see things without having the responsibility of driving.

But drive I did. Nancy was great and met me right at the train station and took me to my car. She was so gracious she even made me stop at a Dunkin Donuts before I left on my journey to use a restroom as there would be no rest stops for quite a while. What a great host. The car looks wonderful, but more about it later on.

It's been an intersesting 48 hours but altogether seemless traveling. The planes and trains were on time. The car was ready to be picked up and it's a sweet ride. I'm going to get a ticket on this trip for sure. But I'm well overdue as I have not had one in years.

Philadelphia Freedom

2007-07-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

Today I left Austin for the first time since February. It feels good to get away for a while and it's great to see my Jen, Eric and Brady. I thought I would be escaping Austin's prepetual rain that we seem to be having, however it's been raining most of the day here. Nice.

Keeping up with the time line, here is a pic of my sister from about 20 years ago. Click on the pic to make it bigger, I'll edit the white down later when I get back to Austin. Note the period stone washed jeans. :) Here is a pic of Jennifer and her family today and it was taken on St. Patrick's day this year.

Tomorrow it's up to NJ to pick up the car!

Build a BMW, Part Number One

2007-07-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm not building my new BMW, but it doesn't hurt to have a spare wheel and tire. This particular model that I'm buying rides on Metric tires that are no longer mass produced. I think you know what that means when you have to buy a new one. $$$$$ Thankfully I found a nice new one on E-bay for half the price.

There is a huge difference in restoring and Mustang and a limited production BMW. There literally have been a million Fox body Mustangs made from 1979-1993. As you can imagine parts are everywhere and there is a huge market for reproduction parts. In fact the best Mustang restoration part warehouse is now only 45 minutes from me in Hewitt should I need anything. Mustangs have always been collectible and will continue to be so. It's a great car to get your feet wet doing a restoration project.

On the other end, unless you have DEEP pockets and plenty of time, it's best not to attempt to restore a BMW 6-series. Thus the one I'm buying is in mint condition. I had a great time restoring the Mustang, but this car would be an entirely different experience. Not that I would not find it rewarding, but maybe in 20 years I'll buy another one and restore it from the ground up.

I'm taking off tomorrow. Fourth of July in Philly and the fireworks should be awesome.

Totally 80's Road Trip

2007-07-01T13:12:00.000-05:00

Time for a road trip. It's summer time and it's done nothing but rain here most everyday for the past few months. So it's time to hit the road for a some better weather. My mom says it's so dry back east the pond has dried up. So home it is!

So what to drive? It is the 20th anniversary of my high school graduation, so let's go back to the days of Duran Duran and see what I can come up with...

It's clearly the quintessential coupe of that time. Often called the "private jet" of the road and the latest addition to my fleet, a 1988 BMW 635CSi. I found it on e-bay and it's in mint condition. It's spent 17 years with it's last owner and I'm now going to be the steward for this classic vehicle. As the vehicle is in New Jersey, I'm headed to Philadelphia to see my sister Jennifer and then on to New Jersey to pick it up. Many thanks to my friends who are housesitting for me.

Continuing with the theme of this trip, I'm mixing an 80's playlist for my iPod. Somehow I can't locate a Member's Only jacket though...

Stay tuned for updates and some fun old pictures of the 80's of my friends and family, then and now. Click on the above picture to expand it along with the other old pictures I've had to scan in. Some of you I'll see in person along the way.

I'm taking this road trip to the max.

Mid-day At The Oasis

2007-06-25T09:23:00.000-05:00

As I continue to explore Austin, I'm more and more drawn to the water. I guess it's due to the rising temperatures, but nonetheless there's more to it then just staying cool and splashing around. Yesterday was a great day to hang out by the lake as it was not too warm to be outside.

An Austin staple is The Oasis. It's perched on the the side of the cliffs that boarder Lake Travis. I was warned by my friend Mike that the food and service was unremarkable, and I can't say we were proved wrong. You come to hang out with friends, drink beer and enjoy the view. You can't really screw up beer that comes in a bottle, so it's best to plan on making it out for a few drinks rather then a special meal.

And the view was amazing. Here are some pics from where we were sat on the upper deck. Unfortunately the place was hit by lighting last year and is in the process of being rebuilt, so seating can be limited. It's first come first served, so you have to keep your eye out for a good table before you commit to sitting down.

Decked Out

2007-06-19T10:17:00.001-05:00

Phew! It's hot here. Enough of that.. I did take advantage of a beautiful overcast morning to start and finish a much needed home improvement project.

There is a very nice deck off my back porch that I enjoy hanging out on, and so does Baxter. Unfortunately the stain had just about worn off of it. I've been TRYING to get out there and re-stain it but it keeps raining! I think we've hit a clear patch so this morning I got up at 6:00 am and headed out there before it became too warm.

It's done. I was surprised how fast staining is. It seems like painting takes forever. Certainly the brush is lighter and that made things pretty easy.

Now I need to keep Baxter off of it for 24 hours. Not so easy.

Highly Unorganized

2007-06-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

Craigslist Redesign

There was a big hub-bub this week in the business journals about E-Bay reaching it's mid-point of maturity. Mostly I think it was people whining about the stock returns. I have no investment in E-Bay or that sector, so I'm not really paying attention.

But as a front end user, I'm highly addicted. It's like porn for car people. Anything you want, it's there. My Mustang was mostly built from E-Bay auctions. Parts came from the US and Canada and mostly from won auctions. Like many of us though, I'm bored and over the auction concept. While E-Bay has branched out with new ways to buy, I'm still not convinced any more. I really am not much for waiting and the "shill" bidder problem keeps you from getting real bargains for the most part.

The antithesis of E-Bay is Craigslist and I'm just as addicted. Not nearly as pretty and mostly counter-culture to the corporate style of E-bay and Overstock.com. It's pages are plain and searches are simple. You want a car, you go to the "cars+trucks" tab and the latest listings are posted. When you look at listings, they are listed simply by time of posting. Not dollar value or manufacturer. I'm in love with the simple randomness of it all. It's simply who's ever next and you can't buy your way to the top. (Uh, yes on E-bay you can.) Craigslist is the great equalizer and you can even find a Rolls Royce on there from time to time.

Every retailer has it's time. Craigslist may be bought out, fade away or solider on as is. Craigslist can be like life, you never know what's next.

AOHell

2007-06-16T22:30:00.000-05:00

For someone who has moved a bit over the years, you would think that change doesn't bother me. Well for those of you keeping in touch with me, I've done my darndest to make it easy for you. My cell phone number is six years old and my e-mail address is about ten.

I've hung in there with my AOL e-mail for you, but the time has come to rid myself of AOL. AOL works fine for PC's but I'm a Mac person and they never got along. AOL also did not like my wireless home network. I hung in there for you, but it's time to go. My good friend who worked for AOL said they will never upgrade for MAC as apparently we don't use AOL.

If you didn't receive the update e-mail, going forward my e-mail provider will be Yahoo. They will have the privilege of hosting my instant messenger too.

Hopefully Yahoo will be around for at least another ten years. I can't say the same for AOL.

Coupe de Gras

2007-06-14T14:19:00.000-05:00

E24 in an M6 version

2008 Audi A5

It's been a long time coming.

One of my all-time favorite cars is BMW's E24 6-Series that was produced from 1977 to 1989. (Yes that was the day where a car's life cycle lasted more then five years.) It's replacement was the dismal failure E31 8 series from 1989 to 1999 whose production totaled only 30,000 units. By comparison the E24 production run was 86,000 units.

The E24 was a work of art when introduced. I mean really a work of art. It was actually displayed in museums, such as the MoMA in NYC. It was the definition of a big sports coupe. It had a beautiful lines, a long hood, bright greenhouse, and short deck. It had the aggressive nimble look of a shark, thus it's nickname "The Shark".

The E31 was big, heavy and aggressive. More like a wild boar then a shark. Hardly the spiritual successor to an icon. It was massive, heavy, and powered by an 8 cylinder engine as well as the available 12 cylinder. The E24 was only available in a 6 cylinder as it was only 3800 lbs at the end of production. The 6-series moniker was reintroduced in 2003 under the E63 platform, but it also has never recaptured the spirit of the original E24 and resembles a pregnant toad.

The spirit is not dead, but it's found a new home. Audi has brought back the mid-sized coupe it once abandoned and called it the A5. A true successor to the E24 if there was one. It's light, stylish and aggressive looking. The underpinnings are from a mid-size sedan, the same as the original E24. Sad to see it's not from BMW, but a beautiful coupe is a beautiful coupe.

Hat's off to Audi. Pulling one over on BMW is a coup in itself.

Picture This

2007-06-13T11:04:00.000-05:00

Every few weeks I help my old lunch buddy kill some time on his LONG commute from Moorpark to Santa Monica. While chatting today he kept filled me in on the latest Edmunds news and all that is going on his life back in California.

Brad is a mild mannered product manager by day and amateur photographer on the off time. As cars are my hobby, photography is his. I've put a link to his website in my blog here so you can see his work. Check it out and if you're in the Los Angeles area and need some pictures taken, be sure to look him up.

Oh, and we both have black Mustang GT's. That picture is his on Route 66. No wonder we're friends..

Brad's Pictures

Schlitterbahn!

2007-06-07T09:13:00.000-05:00

What a day. Baxter woke up with a lame paw and my vet was open at 6:50 am to see him. The advantage of having a country vet I guess. He'll apparently was bit by something and had a swollen paw. After a shot of cortisone he was good to go and the he's walking fine.

One of the largest water parks in the country is located about 45 minutes from Austin. It's called Schlitterbahn which I believe translates to water route. There is a lot of German ancestry here. It's known for the "Master Blaster" which takes you through tubes and you actually go up and down. It's a roller coaster on water. Tons of fun.

Mid-week is the best day to go, so my workout partner and bud Vernon joined me for the day. It was a lot of fun and well worth the trip. Many thanks to my friend Richard and his dog Kelso who watched Baxter for me. We had a blast. Yes if you read the signs in the pictures, you cannot bring a handgun into the park. This is Texas....

After three weeks of rain, it's a bit odd to head to a water park. But it's a great way to beat the heat. Now it' time to mow the lawn..

Texas Cooldown

2007-06-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

Well it finally broke 90 degrees here this weekend. Not much you can do when it's that hot outside but grab some beer and ride on the river. With 5,000 new friends joining you.

It's a floating party. This year there has been so much rain that the Guadalupe River is running to high and too fast. Ironically last year's annual tubing trip put on by my friend Coby was moved to the Comal Spring because of the lack of water. So again, I find myself drifting down the Comal for the opposite reason. It's a lazy two hour float from put-in to finish. My friend Toby and his friend Brian joined me this trip.

It's a cool lazy way to spend the day, and certainly beats sitting in the A/C.