Tinker With My Blinker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

Just A Little Fresher

Not much to report, but I have freshened up the blog a bit. You'll notice my mug shot and a improved link section.

Be sure to check out Jon's blog. He posts far more times then I do, and when you need a bit of beach life check to see what he's up to. I have the links as well to my Carspace.com page and the other Edmunds properties, Edmunds.com and Insideline.com. All the car information you'll ever need is there.

I'll post more links when they come up. Enjoy!

No More Plates

Well at least for a while. You may recall my post back in November, "I'll Have Another Plate", where I discussed the places I've lived. I've marked them by the license plates that have come off my vehicles.

Now that I've just about finished my office, I've put the last plate up. Hopefully this is it, but then again you never know. My Jeep came with a set of plates, but for some reason Texas decided I needed new ones. I took the old one off and found a place for it. I prefer the front license plate when possible as they generally have the most character. I think Georgia is the only one-plate state I've lived in.

I'm A Big Boy Now

While I was breaking out the digital camera to shoot my office for yesterday's blog, I looked down and saw my buddy fast asleep. I don't know who he thinks is going to take his bone away from him, I'm certainly not going to chew on it! Like a favorite Teddy Bear, he's now taken to sleeping with it. And yes he has a full size bed.

Baxter paid a visit to the vet last week as all this water he's loving has caused a yeast infection in his ears. Due to the floppy ears, Lab's tend to have this problem as their ear's don't dry out. I just have to make sure and put a drying solution in them each time we go to the creek.

While at the vet, Baxter was put on the scale and he's 62 lbs now. When I adopted him he was 48 lbs. My vet says that he has pretty much done his skeletal growing, now he will just fill out. That being the case, he has moved on to adult dog food.

Next thing you know, he'll be asking for an allowance.

So Blue

I'm back.. no I'm doing ok. Thanks to those of you who were wondering where I am. Things are fine, just not much to post about these days. I promise to get back on things.

I did paint my office the other day. It was "builder white", as it had not been painted in the seven years since my home was built. Lots of my house is that color, but some of it is painted very nicely. I'm not much of a painter, but I'm also not much for white walls either.

I do like the color blue. Not sure what that says about me, but I'll throw it out there. I have a inordinate about of blue clothing and I've had two blue cars in my lifetime. Given a preference, I gravitate towards blue.

But what blue for my office? Why Ford Blue Oval Blue, thank you. It's not easy to come by, I had to do a close match as much as possible. For those of you who know colors the RGB of Blue Oval Blue is 0/75/140 and Pantone 294C if you want to recreate it yourself. I did my best and much patience to my friend Toby while I kept running out to the parking lot of Lowes to find a Ford car to match as color sample too. I'm pretty close.

Now it's time to paint the kitchen...

Join In

I'm a big fan of networking sites and today I am focusing on two of the professional ones that I belong too. I was excited this week to hear of the launch of professional networking site for the automotive industry. The new site is based out of Germany and the address is www.automotiveK.com. Don't ask me what the "K"stands for, perhaps it's something in German. Bravo for the site not having been built in the U.S. and looking and feeling a little different, while being fully functional.

As many of you who read my blog are in the automotive business, please take a moment to register and help get this networking site off the ground.

The premier professional networking site I belong to is www.linkedin.com. Again, a great site to find people you once worked with and connect to those you are presently working with. I know I've lost touch with people through the years. I've found old college friends from 20 (ack!) years ago. Yes, people will be able to find you as well, but it's hard to escape Google these days and they will find you anyway.

So sign up, look for me, and we'll all stay connected.

All Wet

It's been a while, I know.

It's not that I haven't found anything to do, however lots of it has to do with water. As you can see, and you may have heard, it's raining an awful lot around here.

Digital cameras are wonderful, but not exactly water friendly. I'm really impressed with my Nikon that I bought last fall, but it's not a waterproof model. So I'm reluctant to take it outside.

Baxter loves the water though, I've found a new place for him to play. It's called Bull Creek and it's in North West Austin. Lots of places for doggies to run and play, there's even an waterfall. As I like to jump in an play with him, alas no pictures.

I guess you'll just have to use your imagination or come visit me!