Wayne Davis' 1932 Chevy hot rod, Orange, California, 1950

Wayne Davis' 1932 Chevy hot rod, Orange, California, 1948

Mabel Franzen in butterfly costume sitting on Jim Smith's Model T hot rod, Santa Ana, California, 1918.

Veja neste link os resultados para uma busca com a palavra "automobile". Impressionante. Alguns resultados seguem abaixo. Eu não sei não, mas ainda me esqueço da vida só para ficar olhando para fotografias antigas como estas.

Three men standing around a Packard automobile at a Packard automobile dealership, 1937.

Automobiles in Coalinga 11-26-1909

Larry Imig standing next to a Chevrolet automobile parked in front of the Campbell Chevrolet Company, 1936.

A 1937 Chevrolet being checked with diagnostic equipment used by a supervised mechanic

I want to give props to a campaign idea that knocked me out. Not so much because of the executions (although they’re fine), but for its line. Yes, this copywriter went gaga over a sentence. It happens. I felt that way about “Curiously Strong Mints” or “Nothing runs like a Deere.”

The current object of my affection is for Secret antiperspirant. The line: Secret. Because you’re hot.

Get it? Women perspire…because they’re hot. And they’re beautiful, sexy, desirable…Hot. That’s good copy, my friends: simple, direct, and original.

Hamstrung by a difficult category, the campaign probably won’t win many creative prizes. But it’s powerful advertising. As a writer, I know how excited I would have been creating and, for that matter, presenting this idea. As a creative director I would have had a hard time concentrating on anything else.

Executed properly, that sentence -nay, that declaration- could transform Secret from a tier two deodorant to a pop culture must have. Done right “Because you’re hot” is the elusive and proverbial BIG IDEA. That’s what clients pay us to create: sentences like that. If you’re a copywriter and think otherwise I want to hear why.

I love it when advertising copy has this kind of power. Lots of clever lines get written, read and forgotten. Few become transcendent. Those lines tend to be more smart than clever. You don’t even have to like the product or the advertising to appreciate them. I worked on the original “Not your father’s Oldsmobile” campaign. That line was a perfect example. “Because you’re hot” might be another.

This Week:

Cruise nights are everywhere!  Tonight (Wednesday) is the City Lights Cruise Night in Winnipeg at the Pony Corral downtown, and the Heritage Co-op Cruise Night in Brandon, in the Heritage Co-op parking lot.  For more on these and other regular cruises, head over to the Manitoba Cruise Nights info page.

Red River Co-op Speedway is hosting the NOSA Mid Canada Sprint Challenge, on Thursday, July 10th. The green flag drops at 7:30 sharp. More info can be found at their website.

South Beach Casino presents their bi-weekly “Simply Irresistible Cruise Night” on Saturday, July 12th. It’s just like the weekly Sunday and Wednesday cruise nights in the big cities of Winnipeg and Brandon, but located at the South Beach Casino, 1/2 an hour north of Winnipeg on highway 59. Participants can enter inside the casino for a $1,000 cash draw to be made at the end of summer. For more info, check out their website or contact Jim Robinson (204-766-2100 ext. 2007, or rodder39-at-mts.net) Tick Rowson (204-766-2100 ext. 2007, or tick-at-southbeachcasino.ca) or Mark Robinson (204-766-2100 ext. 2104, or mrobinson@southbeachcasino.ca).

Cruise nights too quiet for ya? Head down to Gimli Dragways on July 12th and 13th. Test & Tune starts at 10 am on Saturday the 12th, and bracket racing starts at 10 am on Sunday the 13th. For more info, check out their website.

Speaking of Gimli, “Cruizin’ Gimli Beach #6″ is on Sunday, July 13th. The cruise starts at 9 am at the Matlock Recreational Centre, in Matlock, MB. Fork over $5 to the RM of Gimli Fire Dept. Jaws of Life fund, sign up for the poker derby, and get your complimentary pancake breakfast before hitting the road. From there, it’s a 25 km lakefront cruise to downtown Gimli, where live entertainment will be waiting. Don’t forget to tune your radio dial to 101.7 FM for live updates and great music while you’re cruisin’.

Next Week:

Red River Co-op Speedway is tearing up the track twice this week!  On Thursday, July 17th head down for the Super Truck Special, starting at 7:30 pm.  Then on Saturday, July 19th, come back for the Stock Car Challenge Series, at 4 pm sharp.  For more info, check out their website.

On July 18th & 19th, head down to Neepawa for the Second Annual Hamilton Street Classic Show & Shine.  Since this year is also Neepawa's 125th anniversary, they're going all out with a Classic Cruise Event at the Aggasiz Drive-In on Friday the 18th, followed by the show on Saturday the 19th (registration starting at 9 am).  There will also be planned events throughout the weekend, all across town.  For more info, check out their website or call David at (204) 835-2666.

If you're headed North on July 19th, make a pitstop at Petersfield, MB, for the 7th annual Lily Pad Cruisers Show & Shine.  The show is at the corner of Highway 9 & Netley Creek, under a giant Mallard Duck (don't worry, it's just a statue;  your ride won't be crushed under a giant duck dropping!)  The show runs from 11 am to 3 pm, with pork on a bun and refreshments available.  Registration will cost you just one can of grub for the local food bank (although donating more is encouraged).  The first 50 cars will receive dash plaques, and there's 50/50 draws and a silent auction, with proceeds going to support Pallative Care in Selkirk.  For more info, contact Marcel at (204) 738-2488, or email at mlem-at-mts.net.

On Sunday, July 20th, there's only one place to spend the afternoon: at the Manitoba Mustang & Ford Association's 14th annual "Henry Ford Birthday Car Show" Show & Shine.  The show runs from 10 am to 4 pm at the Assiniboine Park Zoo overflow parking lot.  Registration runs from 9 am to 1 pm, and costs $10 per vehicle (spectators are free).  There's dash plaques, grab bags, and prizes for participants.  The best part is that all proceeds go to charity.  For more information, call the Pony Line at (204) 981-PONY, or visit their website.

And when that's done, there's lots of cruise nights across Winnipeg to spend the evening.  For a complete listing and lots of info, visit the Manitoba Cruise Nights info page.

That's it for the car calendar, but come back Friday for more great cars and great pics.  Until then, keep it shiny side up, and keep on cruisin!

The two truck-only divisions, GMC and HUMMER, look the most vulnerable right now. GMC is old, and HUMMER, for all its faults, is the most well-defined and distinctive brand (it's also kind of a copy of Jeep, and the most fuel-guzzling division.) It seemed unthinkable to many to kill a 100+ year old brand, but that's exactly what was done with Oldsmobile, even after an aggressive but desperate revamping of the company and its model line. Sense won out over nostalgia.

Although I can say which divisions I see as expendable from personal preference (Everything except Chevy, Caddy and Saturn,) I'd be curious to learn what each division actually costs to run, and which division's axeing would save the General the most pathetically-devalued bucks.

There's also something to be said about cannibalism. Starbucks is in trouble because they expanded so quickly their main competitor at any given cafe is themselves, in the form of the other Starbucks down the street. Well, look at a Chevy dealership. Chances are not far away is a Pontiac/Buick/GMC Dealer, or a Saturn dealer, and all these brands are looking for the same customers, whatever their mission statements may be. The result is, many customers are unimpressed by this variety, and decide to go with a simpler, more solid choice: Toyota, Honda, Nissan, VW, etc.

Toyota doesn't really have to worry about Lexus stealing sales of family sedans, because Lexus is a dedicated luxury marque. Why does Saturn have to be the "import-fighting" brand or Pontiac the "performance" brand or GMC the "intermediate premium / professional-grade truck" brand? Honda, Toyota, and Nissan encapsulate all of those qualities within just two or three divisions that with the exception of Scion, do not cross paths with the parent company.

Chevy should be able to fight imports, offer performance vehicles and premium luxury rigs in one showroom. And I have no doubt that it would do a lot more business without all the competition from other GM brands stealing the scraps of costumers who haven't already gone imported.

Not that dumping brands is a guaranteed solution, but it's a start towards focus. As much as it may hurt the loyalists of all those brands, their vapid redundancy could lead to the destruction of GM itself, and then they'll have to deal with Tata Motors of India owning the largest corporation in the world that probably shouldn't be; GM.

It seems like everybody and his brother is suddenly writing about “this is not your grandfather’s church,” the notorious quip used over the years by the president of the LCMS.  I’ve been working through my thoughts on this for a while (that is to say, I’m sure I thought of blogging about it first), and so I suppose everybody, his brother, and his brother's dorky friend with the acne has now written about it.

What bothers me most is where the phrase comes from. It’s taken from the Oldsmobile slogan “this is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” Our president speaks of our church as if he were the ad man for an automobile company! The ad is a blatant appeal to the vanity. About the target it says “You’re cosmopolitan. You’re sophisticated. You demand more than getting from point A to point B: You move in style.” About the car it says “Elegant. Sporty. Chick magnet. Better than your neighbor's car.” The ad man doesn't know you. But he speaks flattering words in order to manipulate you, and doing so, taking advantage of another's weakness, is wrong.

And so when our president says “this is not your grandfather’s church,” he's appealing to the vanity. Considered and deliberate or not, that’s the physics of such a phrase. To the hearer it says “You don’t just need law and the gospel. You deserve more than that. You demand more than that, because you're intelligent and discerning and stunningly sophisticated. You look 20 years younger than your really are and frankly, you’re worth it.” About of church is says “We’re not fuddy-duddies. We’re hip. We're on the move. We are ready to Par-tay. We’re cool. (This is a church that grew up in the 60s, you understand, or it would say “WE h1P. we k00L.” We’re up 2 date and ready 2 speak 2 where U R, boi.”)

I’m not kidding. There's nothing else that such a phrase could mean. As collateral damage, it  disparages the work and persons of the church and saints that have gone on before - those who heroically stood for the gospel in the face of liberalism, those who died at the hands of those to whom they were spreading good news, those who lived quiet and fruitful lives of faith, those who suffered in a thousand ways, quietly and all unremembered for the name of Jesus. It says: Old-fashioned, quaint, outmoded, ineffective, unneeded. This is not how Christians speak about the saints and their work. This is how the one who said "You will be like God" speaks.

The triune, holy, eternal God has not changed. The sinful nature of man has not changed. The far-reaching genetics of man have not changed. The inflexible, holy, impossible demands of the law have not changed. The fate of man has not changed. Society, since our grandfathers’ day, has changed but only to weaken the knowledge of sin and to expand the mechanisms of its influence. The sufficient, completed, astonishing work of Christ has not changed. The way of salvation has not changed. The means of grace have not changed. The needs of man have not changed.

I’ll take my grandfather’s church and pass on the tempting words of the snake.

So, spread the news already.  My 1989 Oldsmobile doesn't get 29 MPG like it used to.

Actualité

- Partir : tournage pendant l'été à Nîmes du dernier film de Catherine Corsini.
- Regards sur le Désir Amoureux : Projections/Rencontres/Débats aux Arcades Bis autour de 5 films - Les Bureaux de Dieu, Ploy, A Swedish Love Story, Mysterious Skin et Transamerica.
- Les Révoltés de l'an 2000 de Narciso Ibañez Serrador, sortie en édition 2DVD collector chez Wild Side.
- Eldorado de Bouli Lanners, à l'affiche au Sémaphore, à Nîmes.
- Les séries de l'été : LOST (4ème saison sur TF1) ; HEROES (2de saison sur TF1) ; La Main Blanche (la saga de l'été de TF1 à ne pas regarder !) ; S.O.S 18 (sur France 3, ne pas regarder non plus) ; Kyle XY (ou "ex wouaye" pour se la jouer, sur M6) ; Rex ( sur france 2, la vous faites ce que vous voulez...) ; Scrubs, Les Griffin, X-Files Nip Tuck (sur Paris Première).
- Génériques n°16 : le numéro de juin est en kiosques.

Dossier : Les Voitures Mythiques du Cinéma

A l’occasion de la sortie au cinéma le mercredi 18 juin du film Speed Racer des frères Wachowski, les Voyeurs vont réver avec vous en se remémorant les fabuleux bolides que le cinéma nous à offert pour alimenter nos fantasmes.

Les Voitures de Flics

Bullit de Peter Yates (1969) avec une Ford Mustang Fastback GT 390 de 1968 et une Dodge Charger 440R/T de 1968
Les Incorruptibles de Brian de Palma (1987) avec les Buick Serie 40 et 50 ainsi que les Ford modèles A et T
Les Brigades du Tigre de Jérome Cornuau (2006) avec la De Dion-Bouton 1915 et la Renault 8CV Torpedo 2 places de 1913
Colors de Denis Hopper (1988 ) avec tout un tas de Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Impala/Malibu et j'en passe
Mad Max de George Miller (1982) avec sa Ford Falcon Coupé XB GT V8 de 1973
Columbo, série télé avec Peter Folk (1968 ) et sa célébre Peugeot 403 Cabriolet
Blues Brothers de John Landis (1980) avec la fameuse Bluesmobile, une Dodge Monaco version police de 1974

Les Courses de Voitures

La Fureur de Vivre de Nicholas Ray (1956) avec une Ford Super Deluxe de 1946
Grease de Randal Kleiser (1978 ) avec des Buick, des Dodge, des Chevrolet, des Cadillac et Oldsmobile
American Graffiti de Georges Lucas (1974) avec plein de Chevrolet, de Ford, de Mercury... et une 2CV
L'Amour en 4ème vitesse (Viva Las Vegas - 1964) avec une superbe Shelby Cobra, entre autres...
La Grande Casse (Gone in 60 Seconds - 1974) de H.B. Halicki avec BEAUCOUP de voitures
60 secondes Chrono (Gone in 60 Seconds - 2000) de Dominic Sena, avec plein de voiture dont la fabuleuse Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 "Eleanor" de 1967
French Connection de William Friedkin (1974), avec entre autre la fameuse Pontiac Le Mans de 1971 qui sert à la célèbre poursuite du film

Les Voitures Tueuses

Christine de John Carpenter (1983), avec la Plymouth Fury 1958. (Erratum : en fait il ne s'agit pas que de Fury utlisées dans le film, mais également de Belvedere de 1957 maquillées pour ressembler à des Fury de 1958, les Fury étant des versions "collector" des Belvedere... pfffioouuuu)
James Dean - ses voitures : sa Porsche Speedster 356 et sa "maudite" Porsche 550 Spyder
Crash de David Cronenberg (1996)
Duel de Steven Spielberg (1971) avec une voiture Plymouth Valiant de 1970, le terrible camion étant un Peterbilt 281 de 1955
Enfer Mécanique (The Car - 1977) de Elliot Silverstein, avec une terrifiante Lincoln Continental Mark III de 1971
Maximum Overdrive de Stephen King (1986) avec pleins de camions et de voitures, plus un petit véhicule militaire assez bizarre
Riding the Bullet de Mick Garris (2004)

Les Voitures Gadgets

James Bond : la célébre Aston Martin DB5 de Goldfinger et Casino Royale ; la Lotus Esprit ; la BMW Z3 etc...
Batman : de la Batmobile de la série TV des années 60 au Tumbler de Batman Begins en passant par celle des films de Tim Burton, la voiture chauve-souris est indissociable du chevalier noir de Gotham City
SOS Fantômes d'Ivan Reitman (1984) avec l'Ecto-1, la voiture des chasseurs de fantômes basée sur une Cadillac Futura de 1959, modèle Ambulance/Corbillard
Trafic de Jacques Tati (1971)
Retour vers le Futur de Robert Zemeckis (1985) avec l'éternelle DeLorean DMC 12

Les Voitures de Séries TV

K2000 (1982 à 1986) avec K.I.T.T, la voiture qui parle, en fait une Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am de 1982
Viper (1994 à 1999) avec une Dodge Viper RT/10
Magnum (1980 à 1988) avec la Ferrari 308 GTS de 1981
Shérif, fais-moi peur (1979 à 1985) et sa Dodge Charger de 1969, nommée "Général Lee"
Deux filcs à Miami (1984 à 1990) et son nombre incroyable de voitures à l'écran
Starsky & Hutch (1975 à 1979) et sa Ford Gran Torino de 1976 rouge et blanche
Maman bagnole

La BO de la semaine

Triplets extrait du film Tous en scène de Vincente Minnelli (1953)

Extraits sonores

Spot TV pour la prévention routière par James Dean
Bullit de Peter Yates
Christine de John Carpenter
K2000 de Glen A. Larson

Extrait Musical

Black Sunshine interprété par le groupe White Zombie

PS : un lien vers un très bon site sur les voitures (ainsi que tous les autres types de véhicules) présentent dans les films => IMCDB - Internet Movie Cars Database

Well are you finally fed up with the price of gas yet? Would you also like to help clean up the environment as well ?

Well now YOU can with the technology I'm presenting to you right here.. ( the same technology I currently use on my 2004 Dodge Dakota SXT 3.9L )

What would you pay to be able to get at least 35% better gas mileage on your current vehicle without making any major changes to it's engine ?

Think about it.. if you currently get 26mpg you could raise that to 35mpg or more by installing a hybrid water-conversion system.

That's a major difference in fuel economy ! In fact just think how much money you could have saved in the course of just 1 month and that's not to mention the fact that you would have polluted the air we breath 35% less all at the same time !

OK at the time this is being published the price of gas here in Florida is $4.20 a gallon for 87 octane.

So if you travel 50 miles a day, to-and-from work 5 times per week, that's 250 miles and 1000 miles per month. Let's add another 50 per week for weekend travel. Now were looking at 1200 miles per month.

Let's take that 1200 miles and multiply it by that $4.20 per gallon @ 26mpg. We end up spending $194 per month in fuel and $2520 for the year in this example.

With the system being installed we would have spent about $126 per month and only $1638 for the year.

Wow that's a huge difference of $882 for the year and that's at current gas prices !

So how much would you be willing to spend in order to get that better mileage now ?

You can see the example video and FIND OUT MORE BY CLICKING HERE

It all came to a shock by many people in the auto industry and including some in our own backyard who helped us motivate the entire country. General Motors recently announced that it will lay off as many as 1,000+ jobs or so. The majority of those jobs lie at GM's Truck Assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. That truck plant is slated to close next year in 2009. Many people were shocked by the announcement, even the mayor was not impressed by GM's decision. As I walked across the streets of the 'Shwa (that's the nickname for Oshawa), I can see many shops and places all closed, boarded up and displayed some "For Sale" or "For Lease" signs. Many people in this city are starting to suffer these effects. It's not only Oshawa that is suffering this loss. Plants in Ohio, Wisconsin and a plant in Mexico are all slated to close too.

Buzz Hargrove, the guy who represents the Canadian Auto Workers union Local 222 has this to say in a statement at a press conference, "I want to say clearly I can, we are not going to allow this to happen...It's an American company, all controlled by Americans, run by those Americans and making decisions in tough times and to protect American jobs and to reduce costs, they are moving some of that production into Mexico."

This announcement occurred in less than two weeks after the CAW union reached an agreement with the company to postpone 900 or so layoffs until September of 2009. The CAW local 222 president has told their union members to "stay calm and have faith in your local leadership and have the full support of your local union and national union an your brother Buzz Hargrove. GM has lied to the union, their employees and misled the whole community."

The main reason of these layoffs is that many people are starting to stop selling SUVs and Trucks because they consume too much fuel and the fact that we already experience some high gas prices in our world today. Many people are scrambling to find alternative, fuel-efficient vehicles at a fraction of those SUVs. We are not sure about how the layoffs will affect the fate of next generation Chevrolet Camero slated to be built next year. I'm not sure how Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will do something about our struggling auto industry. It's anyone's guess.

If you work for GM and happened to read my blog as of now, thank you. Please reflect on the times you had did with not just your family, but the entire economy that keeps things moving at a steady pace. That's a very big price to pay, my friend. You have to be more supportive. To finish off this blog, I'm leaving you a music video by Simple Plan, called "Crazy". The good thing is that this song mentions about SUVs! If you don't believe in me, read this lyric below and then watch the music video.

"Tell me what's wrong with society
When everywhere I look I see
Rich guys driving big SUVs
While kids are starving in the streets
No one cares
No one likes to share
I guess life's unfair...."

Simple Plan - "Crazy":

References:

"GM Oshawa closing a 'betrayal'." The Windsor Star. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=b850ba78-ee76-4c47-a12c-2af7ecbebd4c>

"CAW rally draws thousands to Memorial Park." NewsDurhamRegion.com 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/business/article/99825>

"CAW slams 'illegal' GM move to scrap 4 pickup and SUV plants, including Oshawa." The Canadian Press. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j_BXnvt_wgJzK2glFMuA_Uj8_fKw>

"Workers at GM in Oshawa, Ont., surprised and angry over job cuts." The Canadian Press. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jD89S22mHh-0ZgtmldrpzAutBmPg>

"GM plant towns struggle with losses." The Associated Press. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gwQbT9_30_DgSkfV62PEMkTJCmUAD912REK82>

"CAW Hints At Job Action To Stop GM Layoffs." CityNews.ca. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_23409.aspx>

"GM to halt production at Oshawa truck plant" CBC.ca. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/03/gm-cuts.html>

"GM's Oshawa blow could hurt Niagara workers." Niagara Falls Review. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1056398>

"GM plan to close Oshawa plant based on U.S. trend." Reuters. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0335650820080603>

"GM to close Oshawa plant." National Post. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://www.financialpost.com/most_popular/story.html?id=560596>

"CAW to fight Oshawa closing." Wheels.ca. 03 June 2008. 03 June 2008. <http://wheels.ca/reviews/article/252660>

So I just replaced the spark plugs in my car after a bunch of people started to tell me (with no knowlege of the other people saying the same) that my car needed new spark plugs.  So I went and got new spark plugs.

Sadly it seems most of the problem is in the spark plug cables instead of the actuall spark plugs.  Well after destroying 3 of the 4 spark plug cables (if they were not destroyed before) I put in the new spark plugs.  Now I know nothing about car engines, but a friend said it sounded like it was still running on only one cylinder.

The good news though?  The car *seemed* to start up better then before.  So I took it for a drive.

Boy what a diffrence.  The car now actually will accelerate decently, and the car now doesn't cringe at the slightest hill.  Amazing what one cylinder working the way it is supposed to does.  I can only imagine the beast my car would become if it had all 4 working the way it should.

So I was talking to this same friend, and he is going to talk to a friend and I'll buy the new spark plug cables (no more then $30 bucks) and they will install them for dirt cheap.

Throw in the fact that I also just had my breaks replaced and my car feels so much more fresh.

My brother's first car was an old-school Camaro from the last seventies. Painted bright yellow, my family called it the "banana car". He drove that for awhile until the brakes began to fail. David didn't know much about cars at that point, so he got rid of it. After that, he had a dirt bike. He rode that around my dad's house. One day a neighbor asked if he'd like to trade the dirt bike for a little Austin Healey roadster. David jumped at the chance. The dirt bike was on its last legs, but considering the work required on the Austin Healey, I'm not sure who got the better of the deal. David learned all about cars. I remember he started making trips to all of the local junkyards, picking up a cap here, a connection there. He learned all about electrical systems (and the fact that English cars are essentially backwards in more ways than just the steering wheel). He drove it a few times, but it primarily sat in the garage at my mom's house.

My brother did get a nice car after that. It was a nearly new Trans Am. It was black with Hurst Hatches and leather interior. David was working at Just Tires. Unfortunately, an uninsured driver hit the car one evening. It should have been totaled, but a repair shop said they could fix it. While the Trans Am was in the shop for repairs, David needed some form of transportation. He picked up an old Datsun B210 that had seen better decades. However, out of all the cars my brother had (with the possible exception of a go-cart he owned for awhile), this was my favorite. The door hinges had rusted away, so if you opened the doors, they would fall off. Instead, you climbed in and out through the windows, like the General Lee on The Dukes of Hazard. Once we went over to the bank together. We had been painting, so neither of us was exactly dressed to impress. We pull up in the B210, climb out the windows and get in line. Two people in front of us get out of line to go move their cars! The Trans Am was never right after being repaired, so that got sold off. David and his friends puttered around with the Datsun to see how - in general - car engines worked. They had the entire engine out at one point. It was put back in, but something was lost in the translation. The car leaked radiator fluid and essentially burned up.

Around that time, my grandma decided to sell her Buick Skylark. It was ten years old by then, but it was showroom clean. In fact, knowing my grandma, it was probably cleaner than the showroom. David picked it up and basically put ten years of dirt into it within a few months. It had a couple of problems. The biggest one was the windshield wipers didn't work. David delivered pizzas and I worked at Radio Shack. Any time the sky clouded up, I could guarantee David would be showing up in the parking lot to borrow my car. He also used my dad's old Plymouth Horizon hatchback for a awhile. He didn't do much to it other than replace the AM radio with a stereo numbering in the thousands of watts.

David got a deal on a little BMW from the mid seventies. While it was close to twenty years old at the time, it still looked pretty much like a BMW. It had some problems with the heater. If you drove too long, steam would begin to pour in through the vents. David thought he fixed it and got it ready to sell. Someone came over to test drive it, prepared to pay ten times as much as David paid for it. They backed down the driveway and - blam! The engine erupted in this geyser of steam and radiator fluid that blanketed the neighborhood. Needless to say, David had to come down on the price.

At the end of the year, my brother got a better job and felt he could afford a nicer car. He got a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was charcoal gray and pretty much decked out. I remember a white knuckled drive with him in the snow on New Year's Eve as we "tested out the four wheel drive" by doing donuts. Unfortunately, the Jeep threw a rod. My mom took pity on him and bought it so she could trade the Jeep and her Oldsmobile in to get something new. I remember we threw about six quarts of Motor Honey into the engine block to quiet it down long enough to get it to the Toyota dealership. By the way, it didn't help; I also remember we had to look completely innocent (read: stupid) when the salesman came back from the garage to inform us that the engine would have to be replaced.

So, David was back to really old used vehicles. He found an old Toyota pick up truck from the Carter Administration that turned into a labor of love. The metal was mostly gone, replaced by Bondo. It was painted a flat black, courtesy of about 20 cans of spray paint. The fumes from the blowback in our garage got so bad, our goldfish died. Despite the appearance, the truck did run reasonably well. David used it to haul all sorts of things hither and yon to various flea markets.

Since the pick up had been such a success, David and his friend Aaron Ratzkoff decided to go into the car reselling business. They picked up a full-sized Delta 88. When I say full-size, I mean full-size. Even parked diagonally in the garage, they couldn't close the door! They found a buyer in a college town who was going to pay them more than they had spent on buying it. I wished them luck as they drove off. A few hours later, David was back.

"How much money did you get for the car?" I asked.

"We got better than money," David replied. The "better than money" turned out to be a couple of dozen vending machines. David was pretty creative when it came to schemes to make money, but even he was stumped as to what to do with the machines. The problem wasn't the machines themselves, but rather what to put in them. Originally they were for maps, but the maps they had left were all outdated. They didn't have money for new maps. They thought about chocolate bars, live bait, even shares of stock in the "Franzkoff Corporation". That was my favorite idea; too bad it was illegal.

Another $150 went to the purchase of a Cadillac Coupe DeVille. It was from 1979 and the term "land yacht" was invented for it. The backseat had never been used and it was about the size of a regular couch... and just as comfortable. If portable DVD players had been around then, David could have used it as his rec room.

His final car purchase was an old van from a senior center for $100. "You can't go wrong for $100," was his mantra. If something ran, no matter how icky the rest of it was, he felt he could flip it for a profit. The $100 van ran. On the way home, we had to stop to add oil; it was about six quarts down. Inside, the van was decked out in shag carpet and wood paneling. There was this indescribable smell; it always reminded me of someone who had vomited a lot of chocolate. Still, David cleaned it up, ripped out the shag, and did manage to sell it off for more than he paid for it despite the fact he never did get rid of that smell.

David ended up working as a mechanic with a dream of opening his own shop. He was certified in heating and air conditioning and did a good job installing brakes. He was working at a garage that serviced the cop cars for Cook County when he was killed while changing a tire. The driver had no license and no insurance and his car - an old Delta-88 - had no brakes.

Though David died in 1998, he achieved a sort of immortality in Chicago. Ten years later I still get letters demanding payment for parking tickets from the early 2000's. I always wonder who he votes for there in Chicago. David was buried in a cemetery where you are allowed to plant a flower box in the spring, but you can't leave it there permanently. Every winter, his flower box gets wrapped up in a trash bag and I throw it in the trunk of my car. Our garage is a mess and full at the best of times. So, it stays in my trunk through the worst driving season of the year. I feel comforted having a little piece of my brother in the back... think of it like having a really big St. Christopher's medal.

While his flower box was allowed back at the cemetery in March this year, I waited an extra six weeks until it seemed like spring really had arrived. Daniel and I planted new flowers and drove out there one Sunday to put it back at the head of his marker. Unfortunately, in the intervening time, my dad had gotten sick of looking at the patch of bare earth where the box normally went. He had replaced it with a piece of sod that was fully grown in when I got there. It sat a good inch taller than the surrounding ground and I hadn't planned on doing any digging. I opened the trunk in the off-chance there might be something, anything, I could use. Underneath the planter I found an ice scraper. Through the winter, I probably had half a dozen floating around my car, in the front seat, back seat and in the trunk. However, I had cleaned them all out at the beginning of April, or so I thought. David's planter had hidden one from view and I was able to use it to hack out the sod, smooth down the soil and get the flowers put in their proper place.

Are you fed up with the rising price of gas ? Want to help clean up the environment as well ?

Well now YOU can with the technology I present you with right here !

( the same technology I currently use on my 2004 Dodge Dakota SXT 3.9L )

What would you pay to be able to get at least 35% better gas mileage on your current vehicle without making any major changes to it's engine ?

Think about it.. if you currently get 26mpg you could raise that to 35mpg or more by installing this hybrid system.

That's a major difference ! In fact just think how much money you could have saved in the course of just 1 month and that's not to mention the fact that you would have polluted the air we breath 35% less all at the same time !

OK at the time this is being published the price of gas here in Florida is $4.20 a gallon for 87 octane.

If you travel 50 miles a day, to-and-from work 5 times per week, that's 250 miles and 1000 miles per month. Let's add another 50 per week for weekend travel. Now were looking at 1200 miles per month.

Let's take that 1200 miles and multiply it by that $3.95 per gallon @ 26mpg. We end up spending $194 per month in fuel and $2520 for the year in this example.

With the system being installed we would have spent about $126 per month and only $1638 for the year !

Wow that's a huge difference isn't it ?

So how much would you be willing to spend in order to get that better mileage now ?

You can see the example video and FIND OUT MORE BY CLICKING HERE

This one is of a 1971 Cutlass Sport owned by my boyfriend.

Him working on it.

Out the window of the Firebird.

And for those wondering, yes.  I do take pictures of things other than cars.  I just haven't posted them yet.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

When I parked in the driveway I noticed the smell of gasoline.  Under the fuel tank was a small spot.  The tank had a leak.  I went to the hardware store and bought a couple packages of epoxy and some fiberglass cloth.  I siphoned the gas out of the tank, cleaned off the spot where there was an obvious pinhole.  I screwed a sheet metal screw into the hole and covered the repair with fiberglass and epoxy.  No more leak.

The car was heavy, and the tires were bad.  I bought a set of retread bias plys for $90 and had them installed.  There were a lot of hoses on the 455 CID engine.  Certainly a car this size did not need so many hoses.  I got a vacuum gauge and figured out what the different hoses coming from the manifold and carb were supposed to do.  I removed a lot of the unnecessary emissions controls.  I found the port that supplied vacuum to the secondaries on the carb.  I hooked up a T-connector and ran this hose to the vacuum advance on the distributer.  Now, when I stepped on the gas it would advance the spark timing.  Now, the car ran like crazy and left a black streak behind it as the tires spun when I stepped on the gas.

I did a number of other service things to this car.  It had no thermostat, so I got it one.  I changed out the spark plugs.  I did a tune up on the distributer and got it new filters and changed the oil.  The car was in good shape otherwise.  Even the power seats worked.  That car was so wide I could lay down on the front or back seat and neither my head nor feet would touch the doors.  Even as big as it was, the Olds 98 would handle well and would pass anything in like two seconds.

I drove that car for a couple years.  It got something like nine miles per gallon, but the gas tank was huge.  I ran out of gas once and had to walk four miles to get a gas can full of fuel to get me to the station.  I once got a speeding ticket for doing sixty in a fifty zone something like 50 yards after a complete stop.  That car had a lot of power.

The end of the 98 came one night on the freeway.  I was driving home and the engine lost power.  A horrible clanking sound was coming from the motor.  It was a bad knock.  I limped home and parked the car in the driveway.  Apparently, I had spun a bearing.  I had no major money to rebuild such a huge engine.  I parked the car out by the barn, where it sat for about a year.  The junk man finally came for the car and gave me $50 for the wreck.

Even though it was a nice car and didn't cost that much in the first place, the Olds 98 was probably a bad idea.  It cost a lot of cash to keep it in fuel.  It was a good ride and drove well, but it was huge and a bit of a pain to park.  I'd say I got my money's worth out of that vehicle.  It was my one experience with driving and owning a luxury car from the era of the gas guzzlers.

Man, what a boat! I loved this car the moment I saw it. I had sold the '53 Ford and needed a car and for less than $200 I was back in business. My Olds was jet black. All the chrome was in excellent shape, the interior was perfect, had great tires, and everthing worked. It should have occured to me that something was amiss because the selling price was so very low...but nope, never a thought and I took it home.

Shortly after buying this fine automobile I asked a gal out for a ballgame at a high school across town and she accepted. I went to her house (perhaps 2 miles) to the game ( about 10 miles ) then to McDonalds ( 8 miles ) and then back to her home (2 miles ).  After a staggering  $3.00 of gasoline ( about $.40 per gal if that much ) and 3 quarts of oil I was back in front of my house. I'm guessing that the trusty '98 was clocking about 4 or 5 mpg and a quart of oil each 8 miles.

I kept this one only about a week and a sucker pal just had to have it and offered me what I had paid. Never mind that most of it I charged to him and never was paid. At least I no longer had that refinery on wheels.

They say you live and learn...but did I?

Royce

At frame 2:17-2:19 you will see a NASCAR Rocket 88. I got to view this car when it was displayed at the RE Olds Museum in Lansing, Michigan, that was about the Summer of '99, I believe.

The model in the video is pin-up queen of the '50's Bettie Page. Anyone who has seen me in person would understand why I admire her more than some of these skinny-minnie models. Like Bettie, I am not overweight but I do have some junk in the trunk. And I am proud of that. It's the gay fashion industry that has manipulated society into thinking women should have flat hips and butt. Ask ol' dad and grandpa what 36-24-36 means.

I miss my grandpa's old Delta 88. That was a thing of beauty. It was the last year Oldsmobile made the big stylish cars. I believe it would have been in 1985. I had the honor of driving it a few times. After my grandpa passed away my grandma kept it for if anyone in the family needed wheels while their's was being worked on. This car is no longer with the family. Whoever has her now, as Bobby Vee would say "Take Good Care of My Baby."

Kalmar Hamn är inte mycket att skryta om vanligtvis, men med en Skyline framför Sjöfartshögskolan, tja, en förbättring helt klart va? :)

Dubbla HKS SSQV BOV. Och i förgrunden lite galler i fronten ;)

Vi mötte en ny bekantskap, första dagen med körkortet innebar att glida i Oldsmobile =) _Andreas_ på garaget.org - Grattis!

Sista bilden, vid Kalmar Hamn igen. Som den första fast lite hårdare färger...

John Arthur Brabham teve como seu projeto de graduação em engenharia mecânica um carro de corrida da categoria midget para o piloto Johnny Schonberg. Foi só quando este americano-australiano largou as corridas e que "Jack" decidiu tentar correr nos ovais de terra. Não demorou e Brabham já vencia corridas e ganhava destaque nas corridas locais de midgets. Foi nesta época que conheceu Ron Tauranac, um jovem engenheiro com vontade de trabalhar em corridas de carro.

Competindo na Nova Zelândia com um Cooper-Bristol, Jack ao volante, a dupla teve sucesso contra pilotos estrangeiros em 1955, e decidiram que valia a pena tentar na Inglaterra. Jack foi trabalhar na Cooper Car Company em Surbiton,Surrey, sem receber nada. Ao invés de salário, John Cooper deixou o jovem australiano construir um carro para competir na Formula 2. Vendo sua competência, a equipe o inscreveu também em provas de carros esporte.

Para o GP de Mônaco em 1957 Brabham inscreveu seu Cooper F2, equipado com um motor aumentado para 2.2 litros especialmente para essa prova. Mas depois de uma pancada nos treinos teve que emprestar um chassi de Rob Walker, no qual instalou seu motor; estava em terceiro quando, a 3 voltas do fim, seu motor abriu o bico. Conseguiu salvar um sexto lugar empurrando seu carro até a linha de chegada. Desenvolvendo o carro junto com Cooper, e agora com um motor maior, conseguiu suas primeiras vitórias na F1 em provas extra-oficiais, seguidas por vitórias nos GPs de Mônaco e Inglaterra, o que lhe deu a liderança no campeonato mundial, que viria a vencer.

Ele repetiu o feito em 1960, mas o domínio dos pequenos e ágeis Cooper terminou com as novas regras adotadas em 1961. Brabham e Tauranac pensaram em tentar eles mesmos e se juntaram para estabelecer a Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Jack começou a temporada de 1962 com uma Lotus e em julho finalmente o Brabham BT3 Formula 1estava pronto para estrear no GP da Alemanha. Enquanto a MRD estava ocupada construindo carros para toda sorte de campeonatos, não foi até 1964 que a nova marca conseguiu uma vitória na F1: Dan Gurney deu a primeira vitória num Mundial para Brabham, no GP da França disputado em Rouen naquele ano.

Jack Brabham teve de esperar até 1966 para vencer um GP ao volante de um carro com seu nome, já então usando um motor chamado Repco, feito na Austrália e baseado no Oldsmobile V8, bloco de alumínio. A combinação foi um grande sucesso e permitiu a Jack vencer seu terceiro título mundial de pilotos e o primeiro de construtores para a equipe.

Em 1967 a marca venceu de novo os dois títulos, mas com Denny Hulme como campeão desta vez. A chegada do motor Cosworth DFV em 1968 desbancou os Repco e para 69 Brabham juntou-se aos clientes Cosworth e venceu algumas provas.

Depois de concorrer ao título da temporada de 1970 Jack anunciou sua aposentadoria aos 44 anos de idade. Foi um retiro total pois também vendeu sua parte na companhia para Tauranac e retornou à Austrália. Ele só manteve sua parte na John Judd Engine Developments Ltd, originalmente conhecida como jack Brabham Conversions. Mais tarde Tauranac vendeu a equipe de F1 para Bernie Ecclestone e mais dois títulos de pilotos foram vencidos por Nelson Piquet, antes do time ser novamente vendido e depois fechar as portas em 1992.

Jack Brabham participou de 126 GPs, dos quais venceu 14, marcou 13 pole positions e 10 voltas mais rápidas. Também largou em cinco edições das 500 Milhas de Indianápolis. Não só foi tricampeão de Formula 1, como em 1966 foi honrado com a Ordem do Império Britânico por seus serviços ao esporte a motor, e em 1979, foi agraciado com o título de cavaleiro - Sir Jack Brabham. O nome Brabham permaneceu vivo no automobilismo com seus filhos Geoff, Gary e David fazendo carreira no esporte. Só David chegou à F1,em 1990, mas sem muito sucesso.

Jack Brabham wurde am 2. April 1926 in Hurstville in der Nähe von Sydney in Australien geboren. Sein erstes eigenes Projekt als diplomierter Ingenieur war ein Rennwagen der Midget-Klasse für Szene-Ass Johnny Schonberg. Erst als der in Australien lebende Amerikaner beschloss, seine Karriere an den Nagel zu hängen, fasste Brabham den Entschluss, sich selbst hinter das Lenkrad zu klemmen und sich auf diesen sandigen Ovalen zu versuchen. Es dauerte nicht lange bis er seine ersten Rennen gewann und Bekanntheit in der lokalen Midget-Szene erlangte. In dieser Zeit traf er auch Ron Tauranac, einen jungen Ingenieur, den es in den technisch anspruchsvolleren Rundstrecken-Sport hinzog.

Dss Duo schrieb für Jack einen importierten Cooper-Bristol zu Rennen in Neuseeland ein, wo stets ausländische Fahrer antraten. Als sich Jack erfolgreich gegen international Konkurrenz durchzusetzen vermochte, beschlossen sie, ihr Glück in England zu suchen. Dort angelangt, arbeitete Jack für die Cooper Car Company in Surbiton, Surrey. Bezahlung gab es keine, dafür gab John Cooper dem Australier die Möglichkeit, ein eigenes Auto aufzubauen, mit dem er in der Formel 2 antrat. Nachdem er seine Kompetenz unter Beweis gestellt hatte, beschloss das Team, ihn auch zu Sportwagenrennen zu schicken.

Beim Grand Prix von Monaco startete Jack in seinem Cooper Formel 2-Auto, mit einem Motor, der extra für dieses Rennen auf 2,2 Liter aufgebohrt worden war. Nach einem Trainingsunfall musste er jedoch ein Chassis von Rob Walker leihen, baute aber seinen eigenen Motor ein. Drei Runden vor Rennende lag er an dritter Position, doch sein Motor gab den Geist auf. Jack konnte aber den sechsten Platz retten indem er das Auto über die Ziellinie schob. Brabham und Cooper entwickelten das Auto und den Motor gemeinsam weiter und der Australier gewann 1959 sein erstes Formel 1-Rennen bei einer nicht zur WM zählenden Veranstaltung. Danach folgten Siege beim britischen Grand Prix und beim Grand Prix von Monaco und schliesslich der Gewinn der Weltmeisterschaft.

Er wiederholte dieses Kunststück 1960, aber die Tage der kleinen und agilen Cooper-Autos waren gezählt nachdem für 1961 neue technische Regeln eingeführt wurden. Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac beschlossen, dass sie gut und gerne auch alleine arbeiten könnten und gründeten ihre eigene Firma: Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Jack startete zunächst mit einem Lotus in die Saison 1962 und im Juli, beim Grand prix von Deutschland, sass er erstmals in seinem eigenen Auto, dem Brabham BT3. Während MRD Brabham-Autos für alle möglichen Meisterschaften baute dauerte es bis 1964, bis der Konstrukteur sein erstes Formel 1–Rennen gewann. Dan Gurney siegte beim Grand prix von Frankreich in Rouen.

Jack Brabham selbst musste bis April 1966 warten, bis er selbst ein Rennen in seinem eigenen Auto gewann. Damals fuhr er einen in Australien durch Repco aufgebauten Oldsmobile V8-Alu-Motor. Diese Kombination war so erfolgreich, dass Jack seinen dritten Weltmeistertitel als Fahrer gewann und den ersten als Konstrukteur.

1967 gewann Brabham den zweiten Konstrukteurstitel und Dennis Hulme den des Fahrerweltmeisters. Das Debut des Cosworth DVF-Motors 1968 bedeutete aber harte Konkurrenz, die Repco V8 waren nicht mehr konkurrenzfähig. Brabham wurde daher 1969 auch Kunde von Cosworth und gewann weiter Rennen. Nachdem er den grössten Teil der Saison um den Titel mitgekämpft hatte, kündigte Jack Ende 1970 im Alter von 44 Jahren seinen Rückzug aus dem Sport an.

Jack Brabham zog sich komplett aus der Formel 1 zurück, beendete nicht nur seine Karriere als Fahrer sondern verkaufte auch seine Anteile an der Firma an Tauronac und ging zurück nach Australien. Er behielt aber seine Anteile an John Judd Engine Developments Ltd., das ursprünglich als Jack Brabham Conversions bekannt war. Später verkaufte Tauronac das Team an Bernie Ecclestone und Brabham gewann zwei weitere Titel mit Nelson Piquet bevor das Team verkauft wurde und von der Bildfläche verschwand.

Jack Brabham fuhr 126 Grand Prix Rennen, von denen er 14 gewann. Er stand 13 mal auf der Pole und fuhr 10 schnellste Rennrunden. Zudem startete er fünf mal bei den 500 Meilen von Indianapolis. Er war nicht nur drei mal Weltmeister, 1966 wurde er für seine verdienste im Rennsport als «Officer of the Order of the British Empire» geehrt und 1979 zum Ritter geschlagen. Der Name Brabham blieb dem Rennsport aber erhalten, denn seine drei Söhne Geoff, Gary und David wurden ebenfalls erfolgreiche Rennfahrer. David gab 1990 sogar sein Debut in der Formel 1.

John Arthur Brabham tuvo como su proyecto de graduación en ingeniería mecánica un coche de carreras de la categoría midget para el piloto Johny Schonberg. Fue solo cuando este americano-australiano dejó las carreras que "jack" decidió intentar correr en los circuitos ovales de tierra. En poco tiempo Brabham ya ganaba carreras y ganaba importancia en las carreras locales de midgets. Fue en esta época que conoció a Ron Tauranac, un joven ingeniero con ganas de trabajar en carreras de coches.

Compitiendo en Nueva Zelanda con un Cooper-Bristol, Jack al volante, la pareja tuvo éxito contra pilotos extranjeros en 1955, y decidieron que valía la pena intentar en Inglaterra. Jack fue a trabajar en Cooper Car Company en Surbiton, Surrey, sin recibir nada a cambio. En lugar del salario, John Cooper dejó al joven australiano construir un coche para competir en la Formula 2. Viendo su competencia, el equipo lo inscribió también en pruebas de coches deportivos.

En el GP de Mónaco de 1957 Brabham se incribió con su Cooper F2, equipado con un motor aumentado para 2.2 litros especialmente para esa prueba. Pero después de un golpe en los entrenamientos libres tuvo que pedir prestado un chasis de Rob Walker, en el cual instaló su motor: estaba en tercer lugar cuando, a tres vueltas del final, su motor rompió. Consiguió salvar un sexto lugar empujando su coche hasta la línea de meta. Desarrollando el coche junto con Cooper, y ahora con un motor mayor, consiguió sus primeras victorias en la F1 en pruebas extraoficiales, seguidas por victorias en los GPs de Mónaco e inglaterra, lo que le dio el liderato en el campeonato mundial que acabaría venciendo.

Repitió este hecho en 1960, pero el dominio de los pequeños y ágiles Cooper terminó con sus nuevas reglas adoptadas en 1961. Brabham y Tauranac pensaron en intentar ellos mismos juntarse y establecer la Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Jack comenzó la temporada de 1962 con un Lotus y en julio finalmente el Brabham BT3 Fórmula 1 estaba listo para debutar en el GP de Alemania. Mientras MRD estaba ocupada construyendo coches para toda serie de campeonatos, no fue hasta 1964 que la nueva marca consiguió una victoria en la F1: Dan Gurney dio la primera victoria en un mundial para Brabham, en el GP de Francia disputado en Rouen aquel año.

Jack Brabham tuvo que esperar hasta 1966 para vencer un GP al volante de un coche con su nombre, ya entonces usando un motor llamado Repco, hecho en Australia y basado en el Oldsmobile V8, bloque de aluminio. La combinación fue un gran éxito y permitió a Jack vencer su tercer título mundial de pilotos y el primero de constructores para el equipo.

En 1967 la marca venció de nuevo los dos títulos, pero con Denny Hulme como campeón. La llegada del motor Coswrth DFV en 1968 desbancó los Repco y en 1969 Brabham se juntó a los clientes Cosworth y venció algunas pruebas.

Después de competir al título de la temporada de 1970 Jack anunció su retirada a los 44 años de edad. Fue un retiro total pues también vendió su parte en la compañía para Tauranac y volvió a Australia. El solo mantuvo su parte en John Judd Engine Developments Ltd, originalmente conocida como Jack Brabham Conversions. Más tarde Tauranac vendió el equipo de F1 a Bernie Ecclestone y otros dos títulos de pilotos fueron vencidos por Nelson Piquet, antes del equipo ser vendido nuevamente y después de cerrar las puertas en 1992.

Jack Brabham participó de 126 GPs, de los cuales venció 14, marcó 13 ples y 10 vueltas rápidas. También salió en cinco ediciones de las 500 millas de Indianápolis. No solo fue tricampeón de Fórmula 1, como en 1966 fue honrado con la Orden del Imperio Británico por sus servicios al deporte de motor, y en 1979, fue agraciado con el título de caballero - Sir Jack Brabham. El nombre de Brabham permaneció vivo en el automovilismo con sus hijos Geoff, Gary y David haciendo carrera en el deporte. Solo David llegó a la F1, en 1990, pero sin mucho éxito.

I took photos of these two lizards --- the pics merged together using PhotoFiltre --- after getting home from work. I noticed them holding tight to a stair railing after getting out of my car and walking around the corner from my place to pick up my mail. Since they didn't run off as soon as they saw me I went back to my car and grabbed my Nikon D50, which I carry to and from work everyday, and walked back to where the lizards were. I think the lizard on the left is a male and the one on the right is a female, as it seemed to me that they were getting to know each other before I showed up. Usually, these fast as hell fuckers run like crazy when they see me --- hence, no pics have ever been taken of them by me and posted on Flickr. But those other lizards, and there's all kinds living in and around my apartment complex, I've seen have been by themselves. So I'm thinking for these two love birds the thoughts of sex and fucking in their lizard minds kept them where they were, despite my presence. They patiently allowed my intrusion, somehow realizing I wasn't a threat and merely an annoyance (especially with my flash going off) and stayed where they were to wait me out before they went on with their Love Potion No. 9 business.

God damn it, I thought, this is the usual negative shit I always write but what the hell else is there?

George Carlin was correct when he said, "Life is worth losing."And it's also correct when my buddy over at Meatlights39 writes, "Being a loner is a great gift except when it’s not."

1987 Oldsmobile 442, with 121,000 miles, remote CD plus tape player, tint, alarm, chrome pipes, AC, undercoated, rally wheels. Pictured in front of some lady’s house in Eatonville, MS She and her boyfriend somehow didn’t notice me, or my 1987 Oldsmobile 442, or the fact she left all the vanity lights on in the bathroom. Replaced with 7 10 Watt Wall Globe CFLs. 

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