Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Friday, April 24, 2020
Airbus A318 landing and taking off at St Helena
St Helena's controversial new airport is prone to wind sheer. It does not get a lot of use. Here is an Airbus bringing coronavirus supplies. Full story here.
Chrysler stickers
Since buying the minivan, I have been inundated with offers and surveys from Chrysler. A small package came this week. Of note, a photo of Chrysler's entire lineup (essentially two vehicles) and a couple of Imported From Detroit stickers (the minivan is made in Canada).
I gave the stickers to the boy.
I gave the stickers to the boy.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Virtual Radwood show going on this weekend
With every real life show canceled, this is a great distraction. These are my favorites so far.
To check out the rest of the entries, click here.
To check out the rest of the entries, click here.
Friday, April 17, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
GAF View Master Movie Viewer
Did anyone else have this as a child?
The memory of watching Popeye with a handheld movie viewer popped into my head randomly so I looked it up online. I just remember it was blue. Google is amazing.
I had this in late 1970s/early 1980s Taiwan. In retrospect, this must have been expensive and rare. I remember my grandmother packing a hot dog in my school lunch once and people acted as if it were filet mignon. I have no recollection who bought this for me.
Essentially, it plays silent movies. You stick a cartridge in and voila. I just had one cartridge. One side had Casper (scary) and the other side had Popeye (action packed).
Alas, I couldn't find the Casper or Popeye movie on YouTube, but here are some other examples.
The memory of watching Popeye with a handheld movie viewer popped into my head randomly so I looked it up online. I just remember it was blue. Google is amazing.
I had this in late 1970s/early 1980s Taiwan. In retrospect, this must have been expensive and rare. I remember my grandmother packing a hot dog in my school lunch once and people acted as if it were filet mignon. I have no recollection who bought this for me.
Essentially, it plays silent movies. You stick a cartridge in and voila. I just had one cartridge. One side had Casper (scary) and the other side had Popeye (action packed).
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Thursday, April 09, 2020
View-Master collector
For the kid's birthday, we got him a View-Master with reels of insects. Then I got to exploring View-Masters and found this video. And because we are on lockdown, I spent way too much time Googling vintage travel reels for View-Masters.
Tuesday, April 07, 2020
My Daily Driver: @mikurubaeahina's Honda Prelude
1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?
I had been daily driving my Supra, with a leaky roof, welded diff, no heat or A/C, leaking PS fluid, etc, for about four months, and I really needed a chance to work on it, but since it was my only working car, I was hesitant to start taking it apart in case I couldn't get it fixed and back together over the course of a weekend. I knew I needed a new daily, so I actually went and looked at getting a brand-new Mazda 6, which I considered to be the "responsible" course of action. The dealer treated me like absolute garbage and hit me with 14% APR despite having extremely good credit, wouldn't tell me the rate (I had to do the math myself), then suddenly dropped it to 7% when I complained, etc. I ended up walking out after four hours at the dealer. At the same time I had been shopping for a 6, my friend from Indiana had listed this car for sale as he was trying to thin out his collection in preparation for a move. I had always wanted a Prelude, I love Y49, and it's a manual, so I decided to book a one-way Spirit flight and drive the car home, all for less than the cost of the down payment on the new Mazda.
2. What has your ownership experience been like?
Overall, pretty great. It had some wiring issues because, like all classic Hondas, it had the harness shoddily messed with to put a stereo in at some point, but my girlfriend is an EE with good soldering skills and fixed those issues for me, and that was really the biggest problem I've encountered. It's pretty drop dead reliable for the age, gets 27 mpg on 87 octane, is stupidly cheap to insure, and the interior quality on vintage Hondas is absolutely one of the biggest draws for me - it has nearly 160K on the odo and the inside looks basically new still.
3. What is your fondest memory with this car?
Definitely the initial trip home. https://prime-excel.
4. Why do you love cars?
I am a strong believer that for an enthusiast, a car is a mirror that actually reflects who we believe ourselves to be. I think that owning a car that you know isn't necessarily the smartest daily driver, or a good investment, invariably ends up being a unique window into the personality of the person who made the choice to own it despite those factors. In my case, my Prelude is a reflection of who I would like to be: pragmatic without losing sight of individuality or fun. I get to have a relatively reliable and inexpensive car but I still get to own something that I see maybe one or two others on the road of per year, tops.
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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!
My Daily Driver: @Contravex's W463A M-B G550
1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?
Going back a decade or so, when I was writing and thinking about cars to the exclusion of pretty much anything else, the "Dream Garage" included the likes of the R35 GT-R, Renault R26.R, VW XL1, Lexus LFA, Fiat 500 Abarth, SLR Stirling Moss, 997.2 GT3 RS, and of course the G55 AMG.
By 2017, about two decades before I had any right to, I had the opportunity to start ticking a few of those boxes, so I did. That spring, I bought a 2013 R35, and in the fall, I put a deposit down for the not-yet-released W463A G-Class. The local dealer thought I was a bit nuts to put a deposit on a truck that wasn't even in his database, not to mention that I seemed to be making the purchase decision based solely on spyshots, but he took my money all the same. Thankfully so, because I had no purchase history with them at the time - in fact, I'd never purchased a new vehicle before in my life - and just a few months later, after the official launch in Detroit, the waiting lists started to grow and it wasn't long before VIPs were being prioritised, with more than a few Canadian dealers requiring "bundling," like Ferrari dealers and many Rolex ADs do, or so I hear (full disclosure: I neither own nor plan to own a Ferrari or Rolex). To the credit of Heritage Valley Mercedes in Edmonton, even though the dealership underwent a change of ownership in the middle of my build, they upheld their end of the bargain and delivered the first W463A in the city to me in February 2019.
But why the G-Wagon ? My father grew up on the farm, was in the Canadian Militia, has taken me to more military museums than I can count, and owns a 1992 Defender D90. I've only ever driven his Land Rover once - on my wedding day - and it scared the living shit out of me with its tractor-like lack of braking ability, but the Military-Inspired Truck gene (aka “M-IT1”) carried on at least one more generation and there are encouraging signs that M-IT1 may carry onto the next generation as well. My two boys, ages 4.5 and 2, love our "Jeep." Not only is it clearly the coolest, most capable, and most "authentic” “SUV” in a world besotted by jacked-up-would-be-minivans-
The old G-Wagon looked the part, but from everyone I talked to and everything I read, it was cramped, wobbly, and not known for its reliability. The new G-Wagon, particularly in low-key 550 spec with none of the widened fender and bull-bar bullshit, was the ne plus ultra choice for this young family man living on the cold Canadian Prairies.
2. What has your ownership experience been like?
Just over a year and 16`000 km since new, it's been pretty perfect. Yes, the rear brakes squeak more than they should, there's been an intermittent rattle in the passenger side door for the last few months, the CAD$ 2`700 windshield cracked from end-to-end in the first two weeks, the sun visors don't extend and aren't very wide, the running boards are too narrow and too close to the cabin, and the remote start app only starts the engine, not the HVAC or seat heaters (annoying when it's -40C/F outside), but it was worth the 15-month wait from deposit to delivery. With only two options boxes ticked - adaptive dampers and 360-degree camera - it's almost certainly the most modestly-specced example in the country, possibly the continent, but you'd never know it. An MB-Tex’d, roll-up-window stripper this ain't. Mercedes hit it out of the park with this one. It looks especially good dirty, which is how I like to leave it.
On the road, with Blizzaks on, even the iciest arctic pavement feels as dry as a bone and I now relish our seven-month winters in inverse proportion to the dread my previous daily engendered (RWD LS460L). Before the high-mileage Lexus, I had a beater W126 560 SEL, and the new G550 is almost as cool as ol' "Saddam" but with a more useable trunk, enough ground clearance to climb up any parking-spot-cum-snow-drift, and faaaaar fewer trips to the mechanic. Despite the 9-speed auto box and improved insulation over its predecessor, it's not as soothing as the LS or SEL were, particularly at highway speeds where the wind noise is predictably atrocious, but everything has trade-offs.
Most importantly, the new truck is much more family friendly than any of my previous vehicles. Strollers fit in the side-hinged trunk without needing to be collapsed and car seats are easier to install/remove than any vehicle I've ever seen. The new G is in fact so multi-faceted that it’s stolen almost every “daily” mile away from my double-car-seated R35 and obviously-car-seat-less Elise S2, both of which are now basically relegated to track day duty, which is probably for the best anyways?
3. What is your fondest memory with this car?
Corny as it sounds, every non-commuting drive in my “Jeep” with friends and family. Whether road trips with our little family to Lethbridge (Southern Alberta) for the weekend, to the Rocky Mountains for a parents-only getaway, to the construction site with colleagues, or to the Enoch Cree Nation Powwow with my mother, sharing this incredible machine with loved ones makes my heart sing. I find that appreciation of my own vehicles is massively multiplied by vicarious experience. Maybe I’m on the road to cuckdom? I kinda hope not…
4. Why do you love cars?
Cars are emancipation from fixed location (and from self-isolation). They're freedom, possibility, engineering, creativity, and self-expression. That, and some people are just car people. For better or worse, I'm one of them.
Pete D. (@contravex) manages a small manufacturing company in Canada and has been banned from several automotive press fleets. He previously wrote at CarEnvy.ca, which eventually merged into his personal blog Contravex.com.
Pete D. (@contravex) manages a small manufacturing company in Canada and has been banned from several automotive press fleets. He previously wrote at CarEnvy.ca, which eventually merged into his personal blog Contravex.com.
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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!
My Daily Driver: @realmudmonster's 2011 Ford Fusion
1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?
A couple of years ago, my dad decided to replace his 2011 Ford Fusion with a CPO 2016 Acura MDX. My car, a 2006 Ford Fusion, was on its last legs. It had over 230,000 miles and various issues that was making it too expensive to fix. He made the decision to pass down his Fusion to me, while my car would be donated.
2. What has your ownership experience been like?
About what I expected with a vehicle that has over 200,000 miles on the clock. The only major repair that I have done was to replace the front suspension due to it being driven on Michigan’s *quality* roads for all of its life. Otherwise, the sedan has been performing quite flawlessly. I think some of the reason for this is the Fusion goes for long stretches without being driven as I’m doing a run of new car reviews.
3. What is your fondest memory with this car?
Back in 2016 when my dad still owned the Fusion, I arranged a group shot with it, my old Fusion, and a new one that I was reviewing. I gathered all three on our driveway and took some quick photos. I would end up using one of those photos in my review.
More recently, I took the Fusion on a bit of drive on some of the backroads I use whenever I have a review vehicle. I needed to clear my head as I had been working from home for a week due to my office being closed down for coronavirus concerns. The Fusion isn’t the sharpest around the bends or speedy, but I didn’t care. This was a time for me to get away from the world for a bit, and the Fusion was a perfect partner for this.
More recently, I took the Fusion on a bit of drive on some of the backroads I use whenever I have a review vehicle. I needed to clear my head as I had been working from home for a week due to my office being closed down for coronavirus concerns. The Fusion isn’t the sharpest around the bends or speedy, but I didn’t care. This was a time for me to get away from the world for a bit, and the Fusion was a perfect partner for this.
4. Why do you love cars?
I can’t fully explain where my love of cars came from. There is a picture of me about three to four years old looking at the dealer ads from the Sunday paper. But I think I know why. I was a bit of a problematic child, getting into a lot of trouble and annoying my parents to no end. This stems from me being diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/
Intaking all of this also would give me a somewhat encyclopedic knowledge of cars, which would open the doors to me becoming a freelance automotive writer and now, a researcher for automotive data firm.
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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!