Tag Archives: The Road

When the coast is clear…

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Headed up North to the Lost Coast for the weekend and made my first stop at Jim and Debbie Mcleod’s.  Well, actually I made my first stop over at TOAD HALL RACING as I had promised Mr. Toad I would help him drop the motor out of a ratty old kit car he is selling to make room for yet ANOTHER Formula Vee.  Toad collects Race Cars these day like I collect socks, when one gets dirty he buys a new one.

It is always amusing to work on VWs with people who have never worked on them for a living, they have such a different view of them. When I think about it though the difference was very much like when I was working at a vintage race shop and my buddy shocked me by referring to a Vintage F1 car as “…a shitbox that needed a diaper under it’s COSWORTH ‘cuase it keep pissing all over my nice clean floor”. Anyway, Toad was gingerly trying to work on this Deutsch Sheiss Wagen like one would work on a Lotus.  I, on the other hand, dove into it with a 13mm and a screwdriver.  Engine out, problem solved.

I made it over to Jim & Debbie s around dinner and did what we usually do, planted ourselves on a couch in front of the digital TV and watched moves while laughing our asses off about life in general.  Old friendship are the best…and with Jim they are especially old (I can say that because I know he never reads my Blog). After watching BATTLEFIELDL LOS ANGELES (which I enjoyed and maybe CHESTER will review later) I went to sleep in their guest room. Dunno why, I always sleep better in the WESTY.

As usual I was awake early and off on the road.  I headed down to COSTCO to tank up then headed out to say hi to the ocean (she gets worried if I don’t check in after all, Mothers are like that).  It was so early that I had the whole thing almost to myself.  The ocean was glassy so there weren’t even any surfers. I have been facinated of late with the thought of using my iPhone as a full featured camera/editing suite and this was s fun place to fiddle with that.  I set the phone up on its new tripod mount and let it shoot time lapse of the surf.  I popped a bottle of water and settled in to dealing with a perfect coastal morning, nothing but the sounds of the gulls and the surf.  Still…thought I…it was missing something.

Hot Dogs…and Nick.  I had my quest for the day.  I packed up and headed into town.

Now in a perfect world I would have been able to just grab some dogs, pop the camper stove and VOILA, but that is not the case.  I have yet to drop the gas cylinder out from under the van and see what kind of shape it is in (and upgrade the valve) so I was in need of a cheap grill. My Inner Scotsman DEMANDED cheap.  These demands led me to S-Mart ( I shop SMART, I shop S_MART!) and for $31 a grill was procured (some assembly required).  $10 worth of cheap grub was acquired after this as well as a couple of surely young men who would have otherwise spent their day in front of computer monitors.  We found a spot near the coat (NO LONGER clear when we got back), popped the top and turned up the ASHES TO ASHES soundtrack.  The gulls were digging on Bowie and we were digging on life.  The road can be a sweet place if you let it be.

Testy the WESTY: Another day, another hedge…

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TESTY comes home...

TESTY comes home...

Today I give you yet another picture of TESTY the WESTY sitting next to a hedge, with a difference. No, it isn’t the pseudo oil painterly PHOTOSHOP filter which some BLOGGERS use to pretend that they can knock back a Vermeer for their daily BLOGGING BLATHER, Keep guessing. OK, NO it is not that before I applied that filter after I went “all COPS” on the llicense plate (but you are getting warmer), keep trying. OK now catching that the shadow gag is a reference to a scene in one of my favorite movies, WIND, is just being smartass.

OK the difference is that the HEDGE is different, namely it is the hedge in front of the house where I live.  That can only mean one thing oh my brothers, that I finally got the Vanagon SMOGGED and registered and for the first time in 15 years I have a new car.  Ok, well new to ME anyway.

Smogging it was remarkable easy I am glad to say, Der Elf must have pulled some strings in the NEVER NEVER to make it easy (and a bit weird).  In California Somg checking an older vehicle is oftern an adventure, like a walk down a road in Sarajevo is an adventure…one with a big sign that says ACHTUNG! MINEN! In California though the mines don’t blow your limbs off, they blow your wallet out of your pocket, take the money out of it and stare lewdly at the picture of your daughter before returning it.  In the case of Testy the WESTY I had decided to take her down to the corner of El Camino Real and <insert street name of your choice>, past the crazy Lady with the signs proclaiming Religious persecution and witchcraft in congress (I think she write for Glenn Beck when she isn’t on that corner harassing traffic) to a SMOG only station.

When I got to the station the Smog Check guy, name of Ali, greeted me and I showed him with some trepidation what I had for him to Smog.  He smiled and said “No Problem!”

NOTE: If a Russian Animator ever tells you “OK NO PROBLEM” after you have explained something critical to him MAKE HIM REPEAT WHAT YOU JUST SAID!

Back at the Smog station: Ali tells me that he actually does a lot of VANAGONS.  He does them for the VW shop. He also tells me that he and his brother had just gotten back from a camping trip…in their 1987 VANAGON. WHen I showed him the interior I pointed the boxes of parts from GOWESTY, my favorite Westfalia parts supply house. He sys he loves their stuff.

OK, so I picked a SMOG shop at random and wound up with another WESTFALIA fan as my smog check guy.  How often does THAT happen??

...she looks so Germanic in this picture, something I like in a lot of things these days.

After 20 nervous minutes Testy had passed smog.  To add to the weirdness on the way over I noticed that AAA, which I use for DMV services, was next door to the shop.  Ali loaned me tools to yank off the old plate (which were Purple Heart Vet plates that I ethically had to surrender) and I walked next door, within 15 minutes the deal was done and I was on the road.  In Redwood City…at 5 o’clock. Testy was about to get a trial by fire, er, TRAFFIC as two exits south the traffic started and it didn’t stop until after the Sunnyvale exit.

After 15 years driving a Subaru it was strange being so high in the air but Testy handled everything like a champ.  The coolant needle never really budged, her brakes and gearbox worked as advertised.  Even the radio worked most of the time, despite not having an antenna (gotta order that next week).

On the way home I stopped for a Slice at a Pizza place and at BevMo for a cold beer to wash it down. Part of me could not believe that this first adventure with Testy the WESTY was over.  At 8:30 i simply collapsed into bed and as the tension released I trundled off to dreamland.  There was a slight twinge of something familiar, like the click of the door behind us after we got Nicholas home from the hospital for the first time.  4 words sums it up.

“OK…so what next?”

Ahll ees vell…

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Just a quick note after yesterday’s post.  I saw the Tech yesterday about my Pacemaker and we spoke at length about how MAX was set “wrong” for 15 months.  She was surprisingly open and honest and it turned into more of a puzzling session trying to figure out how the settings related to my heart and mind in general, the physical reactions they caused. In the end I was told that all the signs that I was reporting to her that day were indications that my heart is settling in and getting acquainted with the device, and the the process is going well. She was able to lower the intensity of the pulses, which are initially set high because of the healing process that accompanies the body getting use to bionic assistance. Practical upshot is that it went great, I found out what I needed to know and the technician was open and helpful.

What WASN’T open and helpful was the weather, which turned chilly on me and the ride south to San Francisco was a real weenie shrinker.  Additionally I hadn’t slept really well the night before, I never do in my old house for obvious reasons, so I had to simply concentrate harder on traffic.  When I crossed the Golden Gate though things changed.  The sky turned blue just South of the Toll Plaza and when I stopped at Land’s end to stretch it was another spectacular coastal day.  Additionally the Great Highway was open again (it was closed Sunday for a run) and so it was visor up, headphones in and life was good.

In fact that is pretty much how I feel these days, life is good for the most part.  I mean, sure I need to expand the income base of the studio and I do get lonely at times but things are improving.  My health is getting better, albeit I am working on that everyday, and my focus is finally returning.

OK so I am off to VICTORY LANE for the day, tomorrow I start on the MAY issue of THE WHEEL and file my tax extension.  Friday I head North again and Sunday is open, as I always leave it unless there is an event.

Sorry this was not a clever post put I do have to fulfill my “Pinkwater commitment” no matter what. Keep the shiny side down!

Going Mobile

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Well it’s Tuesday so I will be off on the road to North bay for a few days to visit with Nicholas and watch bad TV with Stumpy.  I had originally wanted to get outta here early but a hedonistic evening of writing, martinis and watching MADMEN assured me that wasn’t going to happen.  It’s just as well though, in keeping with the bizarre weather we have had this summer is is overcast and cold on the fourth of August. No crack about global warming or such like, that is wasting hot air, but there is one odd thing.  I have spent my life in California, North and South, and when the weather is like this I usually get a sinking feeling that  we should enjoy the coolness as we will PAY FOR IT later in the summer. This year I don’t get that feeling.  This year I get the feeling that something is different.  Weird huh?

This will be the maiden trip for the ECM pod on the top of the Subaru so I am going to drive North with it empty, just in case.

By the way, remember the other BLOGS I talked about?  Well when I am on the Road I post to ANOTHER BLOG about my travel desires and experiences.  That’s over at THEROAD2NOWHERE, link is in the sidebar (of course) or you can just toot the Weenie Whistle (one in every box).

Talk to you on the flip flop!

Busy, busy, busy…

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Man, I have been MOROSE of late. Going to have to do something about that…but what. I had intended to head up the coast to Seattle town to visit cronies, eat some Gooey Ducks but the purse strings have gotten a little tight as current projects have been put on hold for a few weeks whilst my partners sort out some business stuff. Then I started playing with the idea of heading over to Wendover, Utah in two weeks for SPEEDWEEK, something I have always wanted to see. Those same old purse strings tripped me up there again so I am staying close to home for the nonce. SETICON is in two weeks though and that is in town so I plan on heading over and geeking out to all the science and stuff. I loves being around smart people and there will be a LOT of those there.  I figure a weekend like that might start to make up for all the intellectual damage I suffered over the weeks I hung out with the hillbilly bears of New York.

ROCKETMAN!

No matter what I am going to be doing in the coming weeks one thing has been pretty damn apparent since I got the Scooby-Doo running again, it’s kinda small. It’s kinda small and I am a big guy who needs, not only a big cereal, but space for my mobile office, camera gear, sound gear, Clothes, tools (Subaru does have 320,000 miles on it after all!) and so on. Add to that the beautiful weather has me thinking that it would be cool to go out to the local KOA , pitch my tent and use the WiFi to work while enjoying a throughly Thoreau experience. OK so now add in Tent, Sleeping bag, Pad, table for Laptop, coleman lantern, stove and fishing pole.
I either needed to stretch the Scooby or get a roof storage box. I opted for the latter. Mr. Toad offered to loan me his but I opted to go head off to Craigslist and see what there was to be seen. In my second week of looking I found what I needed and sent a missive off to the owner., whose named turned out to be “Jimbo” to both my amusement and delight. We agreed to meet and headed off.
Jimbo it turned out to be a smiling Pen Jillette clone who also used to be in the Games Industry so there were many YUCKs to be head as we grafted the aerodynamic goiter to the top of the car. I dropped him the cash with no haggling, well some but the price was good to start and he was a good dude.
So now I have what looks to be a Electronic Warfare Pod on the top of my car…I Also have a Vinyl Cutter and way too much time on my hands so…

How do you want your FLYING RAT cooked?

Let me start out by saying I like Parrots, they are beautiful, intelligent creatures. They are also crazy. I am not talking about sorta crazy, I am talking BUG-F**K-LOONY kinda crazy. The kinda crazy that if they were human they would be standing on a street corner with a scattergun wearing a clown suit and making eye contact DELIBERATELY. This latter attribute is only amplified when they are either mistreated or left alone for too long. If you do BOTH those things then you have a little winged axe murderer in the making. My roommate Prof G has two such birds. One of them actually ambushed me from behind one night (I was pissed I will admit but impressed).
I have been trying to get into doing some VBlogging but every time I do one of the flying rats goes off like a feathered “Flash-bang” and suddenly I am on the set of “jungle Jim”
So I am going to ask you, my loyal readers, Do you have any creative ways to deal with these feathered menaces?

Living in between rewind and fast forward…

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Can’t really stop to write down everything that has been going on, plans I have had in the works are coming together whilst new ones are formulated.  One hand lets go of something while the other reaches towards new hope, new adventures and new challenges.

I will catch you up tomorrow, I promise, but for now I have to just keep truckin’

I am considering…

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…relocating again.  I went to Austin for work that never materialized.  I went to New York for a love who realized. I came back to California thinking that it was home, but as familiar as it seems it doesn’t seem that way so much anymore.  I have been living out of a suitcase for so long now that I am not sure if I can stop.  I have always envied Michael Palin’s Peregrinations, perhaps it is time for a few of my own.

Not immediately, a lot of loose ends to tie up still, but I feel like Bilbo and I desire a trip to back Rivendell.  The only difference is I haven’t been there yet.

Night all

The battle within

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I have always thought that there is an intrinsic nobility in living your life like a barbarian. That out on the edges of what is considered normal is where everything happens that makes us human and moves the human race just a little closer to enlightenment.  At the same time I was raised as a late breaking baby boomer, trained by my parents to believe in hard work, savings accounts and the American dream.

So like a 30 weight and Perrier cocktail, this is the soup that my brain has floated in for all my days. This is what made a quiet kid follow his Father’s dreams to race, a drive so great that after he spent every dime he earned for years to rebuild a basket case Formula car had his chief instructor in driver’s school give him a Mechanical Black Flag so he could tell him that he was “Driving the car faster than it should go.

After that though the battle began as I settle in with a baby boomer girl friend and chased the desire to make my craft my career, not knowing that for most people when that happens you gut the thing you love and spend years watching it bleed out, along with all your dreams.

But the berserker in me never gave up, he just changed form, losing wheels and growing dacron wings.  Then I found myself swathed in neoprene and floating in 40 MPH winds on New years day, watching the shoreline recede as I tried to get the damn sail up on my windsurfer.  Laugh at the sexual innuendo in that all you like, there has never been a woman that played so rough nor satisfied as much as the squall line I rode in that day.

It was the same wind that blew green water over my foulie sheathed form in the Bay as I sat my ass against the side of a soling and held it down while we beat to weather under the gate.

The wings have slipped away, given up for a pair of rubber rings, the road (again) and the gods of the lateral G.  My late brother once said I was addicted to lateral gs, I think he knew me too well.

The trouble is that this type of attitude isn’t one that really makes for surviving comfortably in the world we live in know, but I am not sure that comfort is what I am interested in.  My son is growing up and while some would say I have lost most everything in the past few years since my divorce. I, however, am beginning  think I have gained almost as much as I have lost. I have something that few of you can even comprehend, I have freedom.  Not utter freedom, not yet, but I am well on my way.

Ever since I saw BLADERUNNER Roy BAtty’s dying words have rung in my ears, I have seen things you cannot dream of.  I have made my way imagining such dreams and making them tangible for people who don’t have the wherewithal to experience them, nor the inclination to set aside the comforts of modern life and find their way out to the edge, out to where the buses don’t run.

Now I find myself wondering though about the Japanese concept of art, that the art is in the actual doing and that what is left after you are done is just an artifact. That the artifact is worth less than the act of its creation. If that is the case then art need not create a tangible residual at all.  Art can be contained in something transitory, a moment, a feeling, the smile of child or the kiss of a lover not yet known. The memory of that perfect instant might be shared or it might be so personal that no one else need ever know that it exists.

Coffee in Petaluma

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Bright and early trip up the peninsula this morning, earlier and more direct than usual.  Reson for that is that I was a man on a mission, heading for a Diner in Sebastapol where a waitress I used to flirt with had asked about me a couple times when some of my friends went in to eat.  This gal and I had in the past enjoyed a somewhat snappy repartee and the thought of restarting that made me smile so I figured I would drop in and say hi.  Additonally she is an artist herself so there was the potential for some shop talk as well…oh and bisquits and gravy. ‘Twas not to be though, Saturday morning “Sebastapolocks” meant there was little time to catch up, but her smile was bright as usual and the extra miles on the road are not something I would ever regret.  It is a beautiful day and I love the road.

Nick’s first short film, the one he and I worked on two weekends ago, is showing today at a student film festival so when he rouses himself from his “growly bear” status and gets dressed we will be off to that.  I also have to crank out the “Shirt of the day” for the shop as well.  This evening is Terran Swanson’s birthday bar-b-que which means a chance to catch up with the denizens of my racy past. It will be nice to see a lot of them, but not so nice as I think I will be going to the track anytime soon.  I still miss racing so much that it just simply too hard to go watch everyone else do it.  I mean there is NO financial way that I could even TRY to do it right now but when you are addicted you are addicted.

More later, have a great Saturday!