Last post of ’08

Happy New Years to everyone. I don’t have a resolution for the
occasion, and I’m ok with that. I usually forget them about two
months into the new year, or change them when something new catches
my fancy. If you plan on trying to party hearty tonight, try to
get a designated driver, or a cab. It’s a lot less hassle than
getting popped for drunk driving.

The Cordova Dragway Park is hosting the 9th Annual HangoverFest
tomorrow. The gates will open at 10:30 AM and racing will start
at 11. They’ll have chili, burgers off the grill, taco nachos and
more in the Interstate Batteries Cafe. If you need a little hair
of the dog, and you’re not racing, they’ll also have Bloody Mary’s.
If you just want to watch, spectators get in for $8, racers for $20.
If you want to learn more about it, go to the website.

A little later in the month is the first local indoor car show.
The 26th Annual Rod & Custom Auto, Motorcycle and Product Show will
be at the Expo Center, 2621 4th Ave., Rock Island, on January 23-25.
It runs Friday from 5 pm to 10 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm, and
Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm. Tickets are $6 for adults with kids 6
and under free. Discount tickets for $1 less should be available at
are HyVee Stores and local speed shops. We usually pick ours up at
Auto Ron’s. Dave Palmer and 3D Sound will once again be the DJ.

There’s a couple of things going on locally in the early part of
the New Year. Comments on just about anything are always welcomee.

A few more things

Things have settled down a little bit now that Christmas is behind us.
We took a little cruise across the river Sunday and ended up at Wally World to get some more salt for the alley. We were a little surprised that they had one whole aisle full of Valentine’s Day goodies already.

Today we went to Skips visitation. His ’38 Buick had the spot of honor right outside the double doors. I still can’t grasp the reasoning behind visitation when someone has been cremated. I mean no disrespect as I guess it’s just a smaller box with the lid closed.

If the bailout doesn’t happen, would GM and Chrysler take Ford down with them? Even though Ford claims it has enough money to weather the hard times, it would have to be affected. And realistically, shouldn’t it be 2 of the Big 3 that don’t need help? It tells me that American car buyers still want a V8 powered, rear-wheel-drive vehicle.

It’s also rumored that if the automakers go under, unemployment nationwide could raise to 12%. We could only assume that if the plants shut down, there wouldn’t be anyone in the Detroit area that could hire all the laid-off workers.While I imagine it would cause a mass exodus out of Detroit, but could it really hurt the rest us that bad?

Then there are even more rumors about the vehicles themselves. Some say the Saturn isn’t going to be around much longer. Others say there will be no convertible Camaro or Challenger. Still others say the V8 is history, and government is still pushing E85 when they know it’s not an efficient fuel. Ethanol is neither a replacement fuel or a green fuel. As an industry it has turned into a money pit for taxpayers.

Of course the bailout would come at a cost for the auto industry. Congress would have them jumping though hoops, lowering pay, building micro-cars, and walking on eggshells. The problem there is, Congress doesn’t know anything about making cars and even less about saving money.

While we’re talking about Congress; they have told the automakers that the CEOs are making too much money and the companies would have to cut costs. At the same time they voted themselves a pay raise. Why shouldn’t the members of Congress work for $1 a year until this financial crisis they started is over? Wouldn’t that show that they are serious about cutting costs? If they did that and ended all the pork, perhaps we could believe some of what they say.

Comments are always welcome.

Goodbye Skip

The old car hobby lost another good friend over the weekend. Ronald “Skip” Lyons passed away Saturday, December 27, at Genesis East Medical Center. He was 76 years old. We knew Skip, and often seen him and his lovely wife Ruth at different car shows and cruises. He always had his ’38 Buick looking perfect.

Skip was a member VFW, NRA, American Legion, the Buick Club of America, the Free Masons, the Milan Rifle Club, and a retired teamster.

I also worked on their home. It started when I built them a carport for his Buick. I later built them an enclosed porch which they both really liked. He will be missed; but we hear there aren’t any potholes in heaven. Our sincere condolences to Ruth and the family. If you need anything at all, don’t be afraid to call.

Comments are always welcome.

They’re going to what?

Just when we thought the fiasco with the Big 3 couldn’t get any stranger, it does. We’re not sure what this sale means, but it can’t be good news when GM starts auctioning off its collection of collector cars.

There’s a story in Old Cars Weekly
magazine about a sale. It seems GM is going to sell 50+ cars from its Heritage Museum
Collection. The cars will be sold in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Barrett-Jackson auction January 13-18.

Some of the cars to go are on the auction block are a 1918 Cadillac, a 1925 Chevrolet
House Car, a 1904 Olds Touring Runabout, a 1916 GMC Stake Truck, a series of rare Corvettes,
and several others. The claim is that the rarest of vehicles will stay in the museum.

So if we’re snowed in this January, this would be the auction to watch. We always try to
watch as much of the auction as possible. The television coverage on Speedvision, or
whatever they’re calling it now is extensive. As the auction gets closer we’re sure there
will be more vehicles added to the list. We’ll try to keep everyone posted.

Comments are always welcome.

What a day

When we left the house at 7:30 this morning there was a light rain. After we picked everyone up and got to the restaurant at around 8, it was raining pretty good. After we ate we went to Wally World around 10, and we got soaked. It felt more like a spring morning.

After catching all the rainfall in our basement, I pumped it out, twice. A short while ago I went out to start the car so the wife could go to work, and almost slid halfway down the alley on the ice. I spent a good 15 minutes just scraping the windows.

And later we’re supposed to get snow. I’m going to put some salt on the front walks and steps before I call it a day. If you have to go out tonight please be careful. It seems like driving might be a real handful later on. What a day!

Comments on just about anything are welcome.

A few thoughts

We survived Christams once again. Christmas Eve our son, his fiance, and myself went to my parents for chili and a little get together. Christmas we all went to my in-laws. We brought the ham and all the trimmings, and I got my homemade chocolate chip cookies from my mother-in-law. I hope everybody else had just as nice a time.

The next big thing for us is the indoor car show next month at the Expo Center in Rock Island. I think it’s neat that you can drive through the snow drifts, with the heater going full blast, park your car then walk into a car show. We’ve made it just about year since it began. We’ll post something about it when it gets closer.

With the new year approaching, we have the stoplight cameras being turned back on. Then on January 15th, the speed cameras return. If you’ve got a lead foot, you might want to remember those dates.

A little later next year, we’ll be voting on the Davenport Promise. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m against the program in its current form. Even with all the questions Mr. Malin answered for us it still seems like a bad idea to me. We’ll also talk more about that.

We’ve also noticed that the pothole fairies have been very busy. All I can say is that I’m glad I sold my little Escort because some of these potholes look big enough to swallow it.

Comments on these subjects, or just about anything else are always welcome.

Sharing a card

Merry Christmas

We’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, or whatever it is you celebrate this time of year. It’s a safe bet that we’ll have a white Christmas this year. I don’t mind snow, but I’ve had enough global warming for one season.

Whatever your plans are for the next two days, please be careful. The roads can be slick, and visibility it lower at times. Now I’ve got to go out and either shovel all the global warming, or shovel a path to my shed to get some gas for the snowblower. My Christmas wish for everyone is that the snow faries come and do your walks while you’re sleeping.
Comments are always welcome.

A Christmas story

Here’s a little story that goes to show even Santa has a bad day. We don’t know the author, we just like a good story.

A Christmas Story for people having a bad day:

When four of Santa’s elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as
fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa
even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to
give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy
bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum.
When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and
hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and
it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went
to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open,
and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.
The angel said very cheerfully, ‘Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn’t this a lovely day? I
have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?’

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve. Comments are always welcome.

Back up and running

After staying up all night to get the new computer programed, I broke down this morning, picked up my son, and had it sorted out in about 20 minutes. He sorted it out, but I’ll take the credit because I thought about picking him up and bringing him home to do it.

Buying a computer is always an experience for us. My jaw drops at the price, and the wife tells me to ‘quit living in the ’60s’. She informs me that things go up in price. Then I always say ‘then how come everything keeps getting smaller’?

She still puts up with me, even in an electronics store. Even though she knows in those places I have the attention span of a 7 year old with ADHD. At least this time we got someone to wait on us that actually knew something about computers.

Tonight I’ll try to get everything else I need into the new computer, but for now we’re back. And it isn’t such a bad day to stay inside and play with the new computer.
We’re going to do a little Christmas post tomorrow to set the mood. Until then, comments on just about anything are always welcome.