maybe the coolest police beemer

...and it's for sale! http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/1451692645.html

preliminary trailer sketches

thanks, panc

I never really think of my little pancreas workin' away for me, night and day...
thanks, lil panc!

happy halloween

like the blues and jazz and skate punk, halloween truly is a great American invention, and is by far the best holiday. sadly, this year has been another in which I've been too busy to decorate the house properly. We have candy and the kids have their costumes, but I've dug no graves in the front yard. I've eschewed work tomorrow to rectify that error, and we'll see what happens. boy-o-boy the time is a-flying these days; I'm just holding on.

footloose and trailer free...

"poppy" as it is now

We just got back from our 1200mi rock and roll mini-vacation to NorCal to d/o the pop-up for its make over. Thursday thru Sunday, squeezed-in a blast thru the Yosemite snow, visiting Shan's mom, and barfing and fevers. And lots of good time too.

running silent, running deep ...running poor

Welp, coming back to the blog... We miscarried our surprise pregnancy in August, went to the ER and everything, and had some sad times there for awhile. We had let ourselves get excited and adjusted to the idea of having 3 kids, but biology said no. We are better now, and have been unusually busy; September was truly PACKED. We had a concert fundraiser after I built the "dock" in the backyard (a freestanding deck made from surplus wood, looks like a dock), English riding lessons for Des and Shan, work work work, school for Alaster, Shan's birthday/work party, bought some 70 year old Russian firepower (an M91/30 Mosin-Nagant), and got forced-into buying a new refridgerator, which put some checks on ice (as in friggin' bounced 'em).

In other news, The C20 is on the verge of becoming roadworthy, having had my pal Steve K. recheck and finish the thing's COMPLETE WIRING HARNESS REPLACEMENT. Gasoline and a master cylinder swap-out are next.

And, we decided to do some work on our (t)rusty 1982 Stacraft Venture pop-up trailer. Photos to follow, and boy-howdy, will they document quite a transformation. I'll let the pictures do the talking as that progresses.

The 76 Malibu is still missing one of its opera windows, and maybe I'll fix that before it rains.

The 1991 Subaru is still rocking right along...maybe 400,000+ miles by now...

My R75/6 will need a new clutch, this is known. And the brakes suck ass lately. Rode it to work today, looking at it right now.

The CB550 is rad, and I should ride it next week. It's had some time off because I drive Ally to escuela 3 days a week and have been riding the beemer lately since it kicks so much ass.

Put $1000 into the deForrester for service and front brakes on Thursday, so they'll likely be some overdraft action happening again. 10 days til that next paycheck.

me & Shannon rock out!

Last night, me and Shan came to the realization that we are pregnant! Was it planned? No. Is my upcoming vasectomy? Yes.

We are overjoyed. This will change things, but we are in a happy, relatively prosperous place. The adventure continues.

I love you Shannon.

me & snootch rock out

photo credits:
top, Alaster
bottom, me.

how's your HMO action?

part of a thread from the UTMC, author:DerGolo (lives in Belgium)

Look here how universal healthcare systems are total failures and are more expensive than the current US system...oh, wait, they aren't!

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/healthcare/healthcare_profiles.html

We've got universal healthcare here.
Over the last couple of months, I had three surgeries, spent a week in hospital, was prescribed numerous medications and things.
You know the soul-crushing amount of paperwork I had to do in an obviously over-bureaucratic, stalinist system?
I had to sign three things for consenting to surgery (on three different occasions, basically just the waiver that protects the surgeon from criminal prosecution for assault), one thing for hospital admission (they filled it out for me, I just had to read it and sign it. Mostly stuff about how I'd have to pay a euro a day for the bedside phone, and a warranty card for a blood-sugar doodad.
Total time spent on bureaucracy: Maybe six minutes. Including reading through the lot.
Today, I had to fill a whole bunch of prescriptions. They have to order in two items, because I didn't get there before four PM or so, they won't get it till tomorrow (They have multiple deliveries of ANYTHING YOU MAY NEED per day. I've visited one of those distribution centers. Think the Amazon warehouse, only bigger. Any medication legal in the country, no matter how obscure, in any pharmacy in a matter of hours.). Because I don't get off work before they close, they'll send someone to my house to drop the stuff in my letterbox. Free of charge.
I glanced at the billing the pharmacist did for the insurance. Maybe 100 euros worth of stuff, my copay is 10.33. And I'll probably be able to get that reimbursed.
And guess what: I PAY MY OWN HEALTH INSURANCE out of my salary. It's a lot, but it's worth it. And they can't take it away from me and the only person who decides what treatment is necessary for me is my doctor.

Our hospitals treat any common disease. I got chief-surgeon treatment even before they knew I had the self-paid additional insurance for VIP hospital service. Why? Because my doctor called ahead and asked for it.
So even though I'm free to get better treatment (well, a more comfortable, quieter room, chief doctor consults and a newspaper delivered to the bedside every morning. ROCKSTAR!!) and pay for it myself, or rather pay for the additional insurance for that myself, even before I could give them my insurance details, I got the bigshot doctors because I needed them. You know what my copay was for five days in the hospital with a lot of expensive medication, testing and surgery? 50 bucks. And I'll probably be able to get that back.

When my mother had cancer, the petrol bills for daily hospital visits and the flowers and grapes probably cost more than the copays.
When a ankle brace had to be custom-modified to fit around my manly thighs, it cost me a grand total of a tenner.
When my father had emergency intestinal surgery a few years ago, the financial impact on the family was next to nill.

The critical care departments of our hospitals look like the ISS.
I can get an ambulance and specialised emergency-doctor here in under five minutes. It's not a grab and move operation but a rolling ER.

The system works. It's funded. The only problem is too many doctors competing with each other and some of them consequently not making enough money. But kinks like that can be ironed out.
We got a longer life expectancy than the USA, we pay only a bit more than half what you lot pay per capita, we got 99.8% of people in the country in health insurance, and those who are not insured could get insured like that by just going to the welfare office or finding some way to change their status from illegal immigrant to something else.

Everyone pays a percentage of their income for health insurance.
People making serious money can opt out and get private coverage with certain extras (like slightly less time spend in the waiting room). I could pay for my treatment myself if I wanted to and get the same VIP stuff. I can get (and have) additional insurance for more luxurious treatment. But no matter what, the stuff that needs to be done is DONE and it's paid for by my evil, socialist, oppressive, inefficient, bureaucratic health insurance. Wait, no, that's wrong. It's none of these things. It's just health insurance.

Joshua Tree some more

more pics of the high desert highjinks!

HBD baby Max!

Baby Max (center) marks his 1st birthday this weekend.

NEW GLASS

The All-Star Glass Fairy came-by the house yesterday and bestowed new, crack-free windshields in both the Subaru and the Malibu! Pics when I get home, cause I know you're so excited.

rock and roll hoochie-who?

Shan was singing 'Hang-on Sloopie' this morning, so I had to Cliff Claven her with the tidbit that Rick Derringer of R&R Hoochie Coo fame is the guy on guitar in Sloopie. This resulted in a blank stare from her, which resulted in the following from me...

space invaders

Shannon and Desi found this in their never-ending quest for (talk about) electronic pop music. This song is predestined for some new technology commercial where some hipsters fall in love while half a world apart, but still has some boppy merit.

temporary taillight

Honda daily

finally remembered to search for this old/new obsession.

when I was a kid, I loved this band's music. It wasn't til I was an adult that I started remembering/realizing that Slade was responsible for all of these songs I liked.

In particular, I held onto the refrain of "run run away" (below) my entire life, and just now discovered it was a Slade song. I've sung it to so many record store people to no avail...Basically I feel as if the saran wrap on my subconscious was just peeled back to overwhelm me with all kinds of til-now elusive leftover treasure that I've been always-forgetting to investigate!

...Shannon survived Budgie, and I think the kid's be on board with a few months of Slade sing-a-long action, so I hope the neighborhood can deal.

snootch turns three! party pics yo!

>>>>>>>>>>>>click the pic to see it all<<<<<<<<<<<<,

kate: still amazing

A cloudbuster is a fairly simple device. It consists of an array of parallel hollow metal tubes which are connected at the back to a series of flexible hoses which are of equal size to the parallel tubes. Alternately, the back of the tubes are joined together to a single large diameter pipe and flexible hose. The open end of these hoses are placed in water, which is believed to be a natural orgone absorber. Flowing water such as a river is preferred as an orgone absorbent, because a fixed volume of water in a bucket or barrel can become saturated with orgone and the cloudbusting process stops. The tube array is mounted on a two-axis gimbal permitting the tube array to be elevated or rotated horizontally.

The music video, directed by Julian Doyle, was conceived by Terry Gilliam and Kate Bush. The video features Canadian actor Donald Sutherland playing the role of Wilhelm Reich, and Bush playing the part of his young son, Peter. In the UK it was shown at some cinemas as an accompaniment to the main feature.

working on the truck...

...but just came inside to look for lightbulbs, and saw that my mega-upload of mpegs was finished! here's one:

ah, trivial obsessions....

I'm about 2 years into my little fantasy about owning an MGA (pref a MkII btw). I'm also about 2 years into my little reality about owning an MGA (pref a MkII), which basically entails monthly searches of ebay and Craigslist to "check the market." Look at this (Mk.I) sweetheart in NM, currently on ebay.

saturday night dance party

rave music, leslie hall, tlc, the toy dolls, and now blowfly and wesley willis on the rad henry rollins show.

how hard could it be?

So I bought this lawnmower a few years back (new, for like $249), then there was no room for it in the garage, then it got left in the rain a few times and stopped running...then I paid $100 to fix it, then it got rained-on again, and has recently been in the not-working column again. Meanwhile, the recent raining-au-go-go has made our yards a veritable jungle. Steaming and everything. So, the mower had to be replaced. Having the money at the moment, I was about to hop in the car and go get a new one when that last yelp for help sounded from the non-op mower. I guess I could try harder to fix it. At this point, Shannon rolled her eyes and shut the kitchen door in my face, leaving me to my fantasies of mechanical repair.

An hour later, I'd fixed it! And, yes, I'm growing a kick-ass moustache, thanks-for-noticing!

random mmmc pics

Early-morn meet-up fer breakfast 'fore heading to the high-desert. Maybe 40 degrees F.

Snootch and Steve-O on Brooks' (now broken-down and cafe'd) chopper.

Me and the /6 on approach to giant rock via the UFO runway near the integratron.

State of the Stable

Oh my god, I am the raddest seat designer there is! Mike at LB Line-X is the man with the industrial needles yo, and he didn't even raise an eyebrow when I told him the color scheme.

More Pics from Sundays past

Some seriously nice artwork. Says "watching the world die."

Part of the abandoned water treatment plant on my all-dirt route to work.

There's 6 of these huge cisterns with those rusty catwalks; a very Star Warsy industrial setting.

Check this thing out. Left side of the photo shows a sea-going rocket launching platform. This company (Sea Launch) is based on Terminal Island, between the LBC & 'Peedro. They sail it to the equator and launch satellites into geosyncronous orbit! This part of the pier is as close as I could get. Luckily, I know some of the Port of L.A. Motorcops (from work), so the Homeland Security Q&A sessions are short after I pull up, shoot 2 pics, and ride off again.

such a fine bike

Back when I worked on Sundays, I'd take-off early to do some urban adventure riding. The dealership had a rigid Sunday schedule; 10am to 4pm. I'd jam at 7 or 8am, explore around, cruise in at 10, pressure-wash me and the bike off, then walk in and go to work. Here's some pics of that fine era.

VEHICLE STATUS UPDATE

1976 Chevrolet Malibu: Still running well, drove it to work today. To do: Smog check, registration, replace windshield and fast back windows, get the thing re-tinted. Bonus; Original Parts Group in nearby Seal Beach, CA, has started re-poping interior panels for 73-77 Chevelles! I've finally broken through the dreaded 1972 cap! I'm cool!

1969 Chevrolet C20 Stepside LWB: brought the neighbors out with an earth-shattering backfire, then got it running for 10 whole minutes! Tried to rewire it with Brother Gary's contributions, but the majorly burned parts on my harnesses are the missing parts from his. Decided to put my X-mas gift certs to work...new wire harnesses, $359. Hopefully in the mail already.

1991 Subaru Legacy SW: still rocking, though both electric mirrors have decided to give-up and look skyward, possibly yearning for a release from this earthly coil. But I say no-dice, baby! Stuck some Bic pens in 'em to keep 'em correctly oriented, tres chic.

1975 Honda CB550 K1: Just picked-up the seat from Mike at LB Line-X! Got it diamond stitched and foamed, and it looks bitchen! Plus, got the bike running 2 days ago...amazing what putting gas in the thing does.

1975 BMW R75/6: Needs fork seals, new brakes, clutchwork, etc etc etc, but continues to rock and roll on a daily basis. Love that bike. Went to brother John's Airhead Tech Day 2009 last Saturday on the thing in the rain and rejoiced in the beemerness of it all.

well, we survived those 8 years...

Amount of sympathy for dick cheney in a wheelchair: fucking zero. Amount of people who lost loved ones on account of that asshole's actions: countless.

A NEW POST

...be impressed, I've been busy.

Halloween Radness

Honda progress...

"crazy rough motorcycle"

good thing the kids are cute...

...because last night was pretty friggin' disgusting. First of all, Shannon is uncharacteristically sick right now, so the glue that holds our family together against the forces of utter unkemptness is off her game a little. As in bed-ridden. So, last night, after a 10 hour day at work, I come home and grab a beer. This beer was to die a horrible, warm, neglected, un-drank death an hour later. Right away, Chumby heads-out to the side patio for some "alone time," a.k.a. taking a crap. No big deal. I get up from the couch, get a TP mitt in order, and scoop up the rather stinky turd. Chumby announces to me, loudly, while pointing, where the poop is. Like you could miss this giant blob of an un-welcomemat outside the door. "Thank you, snootcher, I, uh *gak* see it." I flush it and resume my position on the couch and take another drink. "Daaaaad," cries Desi. Alaster evidently is not finished with his reign if fecal terror. Up, scoop, flush, wipe, couch, beer. Two minutes pass, then two more poops pass. Up to clean, wash hands, ask Snootch if he is, in fact, done. I remain standing, just in case. Convinced all is clear, I sit. But ha ha motherfucker! The poop-de-grace earns the 'Ster another wipe-down, before he comes back inside, for a bath. Ah, all is well, the air is beginning to clear, I deposit Chumby in the drawing bath and take another sip. I'm almost through the door when I realize he's shitting in the water! Ha ha woo woo, the funny farm, where life is poopy all the time ha ha hoo hoo. Shannon, is continuing to whoop-there-cough-is pretty harshly from the kitchen. Why? I think it's because I'm scrambling to extricate toys and drain bath water due to poop. But no, she's coughing/laughing because she's in the kitchen watching the cat B A R F. ...A lot. This is funny to her beacuse she knows she's too fucking sick to be even remotely expected to clean-up cat yorch, and knows that my hands aren't even cold from chumby-poop duty part 4. She coughs/laughs some more as the offending feline goes on a puke rampage all over the kitchen. I've begun drawing another crap-free tub for Alaster after cleasing the area. At least it doesn't smell bad. Ha ha, uh, not. From the bathroom I inform Desi that her pet has soiled our otherwise totally all-the-time pristine kitchen, and now's the time for her to come be a responsible pet-owner (much to her surpise -- and horror. "...moi, daddy?"). To my surprise, then horror, she steps-up to clean-up the compacted cat food yorch-logs under the table. One heave and gak, two heave and gak, three H&G, floor! Yup, you guessed it, she fucking barfed too! All over the floor! Ha ha ha! Shannon now cough/laughs so hard I think she's gonna yak next. Meanwhile, no kidding, Alaster damns another torpedo in bath #2 (numba twoo...get it?!!). I pause to mentally check that I haven't yet shit my pants myself. Did I mention that Shan sometimes wee-tiny lil bit wets her pants when she coughs too hard? "Oh yeah," quoth the yellow not-so kool-aid man! On to the kitchen! It's like my household was in the tail of some kinda Maximum Overdrive chain reaction elimination comet. I was afriad to sit down and relax after cleaning-up Desi's centrally located thrown-up homemade chicken soup, for fear of whatever could possibly be next. I think Shan actually jumped-in on the Desi mess while I finished de-catting a few items, cough/laughing all the while. Snootcher probably tried to keep the train rollin', but just didn't have it in him, poor guy. I washed my hands for the 19th time.
I finally got to the couch and finished a warm lonely beer. To my knowledge, we were finally free.

Honda HA HAs

since I'm weird like that, I can't just destroy the factory-OG paint job on my CB550's gas tank, so I spent $40 on ebay for a cleaner-on-the-inside tank, and sandblasted that one to give it the Razzle-Dazzle. Well, having no money to properly paint it at the moment, I've been forced to ride around all primer style. Needing the razzle-dazzle nonetheless, I've given the tank to Tech Jerimiah to bondo, then I'll attack it with the spray paint Jap Zero paint scheme. the HA HAs? oh yeah, seems that my ebay tank is a one-year-only Honda tank that requires a one-year-only fuel petcock...and I found this out as I turned it over to install the old petcock on it so I could ride home from work. Ha ha. the correct petcock? $60 new from ebay. It's expensive to make a crappy bike rockin'.

why the long (beach BMW) face?

...having made it to the promised land of our new, motorcycles-only building, I'm wearing my stress on my sleeve. All sorts of dumb things are redefining my job, and if I wasn't holding up the whole totem pole before, brother now I sure am! Anyway, some pics of the new place, soon to be running on all 1200ccs...