Category: Jeepster

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Are You Not Entertained?

Friends,

The workload over the past several days has been sparse, so I have offered my time to assist my colleagues in the UK with their projects. Knowing that they probably don’t have anything ready to go, I’ve been adding some other service in Microsoft Teams, like picking paint colors or offering dinner suggestions. Today, I offered a bedtime story, which they enthusiastically requested.

I’d like to present it to you as it was presented to them, so I’m going to supply screen shots with the story in ALT text. That way, if you have a screen reader, you can follow along.

I flavor the story early in the chat with the post image you see at the top. Okay, here we go…

A Bedtime Story Once upon a time near the end of the last century, my brother and I both lived in San Diego. I lived inland, while my little brother lived in a tiny house perched on Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach with his insufferable practice wife.One morning in September, he called in a panic. His refrigerator had died and he needed a replacement quickly, before the contents of the freezer thawed. We both had good luck with the scratch n' dent selection at Aztec Appliance downtown, and he'd already made a selection. Now, how to get the new fridge to his home without driving on the freeway. We believed then, and the whispers from old wives somehow persist, that refrigerators must always be upright. Always. Never on their side. Something about refrigerant and compressors and cavitation, something. All we knew before we knew better was that his Isuzu Rodeo would not do. Time to call the cavalry. The one that drives a 1973 Jeep Commando.

If you take a look at the pretty blue Commando above (which is not mine), you'll see a small, refrigerator-sized space behind the front seats. We loaded the big box with the gash in its side, lashed it to the roll bar with bungee cords and set off on our trek to the beach without using freeways. I had been fiddling with the Jeep's electrical system, but the fuel gauge still wasn't working. I certainly didn't want to run out of gas on the freeway, and I wasn't entirely sure the bungee cords would hold at speed. Southern California, cruising with the top down, living our best lives—with a refrigerator. Then we turned onto Texas Street. Its 15% grade is daunting for drivers of new cars. How about the Jeep without power brakes? Who options a new car without power brakes? Good question. Someone who drives on flat roads at walking speeds, I suspect.

As we headed down into Mission Valley and speed picked up, my little brother gave me a panicked glance, 'Are you going to slow down?' 'I'm considering it!' as the brake pedal became mushy then stopped having any effect. Red light at intersection at the bottom of the hill. Four cars stopped there, but not us. Our speed was increasing and people were still stopped in front of us. I started swerving to try and scrub off some speed, but the refrigerator had changed our center of gravity. Would we crash? Would we flip over? Is there a soft place to land? Will the stop light ever change? Will my little brother stop yelling at me to stop?

(Since I was also in a video call, it took a little while to finish up. My colleagues were not amused.)

YES? YES???? AND...? I can feel the tension. 'Then I died' The End COME ON!

I tried to downshift, but the old truck transmission was not having it. Will the marginal emergency brake work? Will the stop light ever change? It has to change, right? Oh look! There's an open left turn lane. I swerved and laid on the horn, which hadn't worked in a while but chose today to do something useful. My little brother screamed, 'What the fuck are you doing!' and the light turned as the big bumper crossed the line. There's a soft shoulder not too far past this intersection where we finally came to rest. 'Dude, that was fucked up. You drive like an asshole.' 'Are you alive? Are you sure? Then shut the fuck up.' And that, friends, is how I got out of hauling his new refrigerator up two flights of stairs.

And that, dear friends, is a fun way to entertain a group of jaded copywriters in the middle of a meeting.

Your pal,

– bob

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Tuning The Carbs

Friends,

I just got off the phone with a nutritionist named Jeanine who shared some things, like if one has diabetes, one must be very conscious of carbohydrates. I learned this from my Dad, who offered this advice, “Stay away from white food.” Before you imagine that he was referring to potato salad with raisins (ew. – ed), he meant rice, potatoes, and bread. 60 grams of carbohydrates a day. That’s my “budget.” Not a lot for me, since I love a good potato chip every now and again.

Jeanine also noted that I’m barely getting half of the exercise I should be putting in every week. If I have any desire to lose weight, it’s 300 minutes of exercise each week, at minimum. I’m thinking of starting here and building up to a more serious regimen. The problem is that I can’t seem to get started.

a fine photo of the sunset taken from our back yard in northern san diego county

You know, maybe I should treat it as a nice way to mix up the routine.

Now that I think about it, another way to mix up the routine would be to fix a certain sad and broken Jeep languishing in my garage. (isn’t there also a sad and broken jeep in your driveway as well? – ed Yes. I’m reminded of that fairly regularly, but this is a different story.)

a fine photo of a 1973 jeep commando in the snow

My fine Jeep Commando is a lot of fun to drive, but it’s sort of a pain to keep running. Slowly, I’m working on that problem. Now that electric cars are slated to take over from hydrocarbon-burning transportation, replacement carburetors are remarkably cheap. If you don’t believe me, look for regular, non-performance carburetors at Amazon, or Summit Racing, or Rock Auto. Those remanufactured carbs are pretty cheap, because the bet is that they’ll soon be obsolete. That calculus may be a little premature, but I’ll take it.

I also took the opportunity to replace the points in the distributor with a Pertronix unit. It’s a Hall-effect pickup that replaces the points and fits inside the distributor cap. That should take care of the “go” but I still need to address to the “whoa.” (seriously? -ed It was too good to pass up.)

Also, there might be some large holes in the floor…

Nothing that can’t be fixed, right?

Right?

Your pal,

– bob

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Filling In The Blanks: What Are You Doing For Fun?

Friends,

I’ve been having a good time taking a lot of pictures to fill out this hot mess of a blog, but lately I’ve been taking it a little more seriously. By serious, I mean that it is my intention to figure out what all of the Fs are stopping and the ISOs are in search of. I’m also very keen to get out to take trips specifically to take photos. The new DSLR (Dark Salad Lettuce, Romaine) camera is complicated but fun to use. Expect a lot more of shots once I get a little more comfortable with the thing.

This shot, however, is of a new Hot Wheels Jeepster that was taken with a macro lens clipped onto my phone. Also fun.

Your pal,

– bob

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Now The Circle Is Complete

What a cute family photo.

Friends,

I’m happy to announce that I’m now the proud owner of a 2012 Jeep Wrangler. What you may not know is that I travelled to the future to get it, and good gravy, people, it’s full of THE FUTURE! Gizmos and tricks abound in the thing, which is not really what you’d expect from a Jeep.

What led me to make such a reckless gamble on the health of my own personal economy? I carefully considered my options and came to the realization that the Grand Livingroom needs extensive and expensive repairs, the Mighty Jeepster would not be the best way to drive 100 miles a day, and the teensy racecar (may Marco’s dad have mercy on her soul) is absolutely no good in the snow. Did I mention that we’re getting snow right away? And ice. And ice and snow.

Mostly, though, I haven’t bought a new car since 1988 and I think that I would like to have a vehicle that I can work on when I want to rather than when I have to. That, and I was driving like a tremendous knucklehead in said racecar, and I think it was making me into a bad person. The type of reckless and angry person that I really don’t care for. It was the kind of car you get to drive fast and hard, but this isn’t a place for that sort of thing, I’ve come to realize, so my greatest challenge has been to settle into the slow and dull pace that everyone else here has adopted. The driving dynamics of the Wrangler reward slow, as does the free satellite radio, so I’ll just turn on the blues channel and take it easy from here on. I also thought that remaining alive might be a good idea, so getting rid of the sports car also made sense for obvious reasons.

From the future!

But the interior of the new Jeep is also a nicer place to be, considering that it’s from the future. It has an air conditioner and a heater, after all. This is quite a luxury considering the other vehicles in the Damp Dog Lodge fleet. It even has a radio that plays radio stations and magically connects to a cellular phone as well as a satellite that’s full of music. You can talk to it and it talks back. And it has six gears in its transmission that you can select yourself. That’s two more than certain other Jeeps around here…

The state of the art in the late 60s.

Once Spring comes, I can get to work on the Grand’s engine problems, then bid her a tearful farewell. She’s been a life saver for many years, but somebody with more time and patience should take on her challenges going forward. I suspect that the price will be very reasonable.

I’ll let you know how scary a short-wheelbase and slab-sided vehicle can be once something crops up, but I’m really pleased at the moment. Maybe it’s the new car smell.

Your pal,

bob

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Seven Millimeters of Cabin Fever!

Early morning in Idyllwild, November 2011.

Friends,

The first snowfall of the season here in America’s Cleanest and Bestest Forest started yesterday and here I am stuck without a Jeep. Okay, to be fair, the Mighty Jeepster is up and running, but not the best mode of safe transportation with its sternum-stabbing steering column, metal dashboard and crusty lap belts. It’s great for around town chores, but I rely on the Grand Livingroom to get to and from work when the weather trends towards ice and slush. Call me old fashioned.

Because I live in a town that runs at a slower pace (which is, incidentally, why we have Daylight Saving Time—so that we can finally catch up) and I need a special tool to fix my all-wheel drive Barcalounger that will surely maybe arrive Monday or thereabouts, I have had the opportunity to look at some internets.

So let’s see what’s on Metafilter. A link to Craig Ferguson’s Halloween show? With Neil Gaiman? I’m in. Particularly since their interview touches on the Doctor’s Wife episode of Doctor Who. He was even in a musical number at the end of the show.

But who is Amanda Palmer? Well, she’s a singer, used to be is currently in the Dresden Dolls, married to Neil Gaiman (interesting couple), and is also a noted pescatarian.

Which reminds me, I should go to the market and get something for dinner.

– bob