Another Pink World

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Category: bug stuff

July 01, 2009

worth noting

on the road today...

• we saw the truck that belongs to the company where i work. there's only one (as far as I know). it must have been on the way to set up at a conference.

• we saw a TROSA moving truck! in Tennessee!

• spacepod turned over 180,000 miles.

• we parted ways with phoebe and her occupants at west memphis; she passed directly over us as she left I-40. whee!

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:19 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 15, 2009

reunion

we're going back to roswell. it's the 10 year reunion.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

December 04, 2008

Energy tax credits for diesel vehicles!

I was visiting fueleconomy.gov to check the fuel mileage rating of the vehicles the heads of the "big three" auto makers drove (or mainly were driven in) to Washington this week, and spotted this...

Energy tax credits for diesel vehicles

Wow! I have to admit to being somewhat resentful of the tax credits given to hybrids when diesel passenger cars have been getting great mileage for years. I realize that emissions are part of the issue and I wonder if the cleaner diesel fuel now available has something to do with this. Anyway, the credits are only for 2008 and later vehicles and they aren't much, but the recognition pleases me.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:29 PM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

May 25, 2008

more champagne. less caffiene. taking the poo out of spacepoo.

i'm in Va this weekend. for as long as we've been together, J and i have kept lists of restaurants we want to visit together, one in his area and one in mine.

this weekend J decided we should try what is perhaps the fanciest of all the places on the list (or maybe both lists): The Inn at Colonial Williamsburg. they have brunch there, one of our favorite meals.

oh my. here's how it worked: it was a fixed price menu. you select an entree, and then help yourself to the extensive tasting table which included an omelette station (of no interest to me, but of great interest to J). the tasting table had many hors d'oeuvres, salad, and small desserts. they brought a basket of little bread things to your table (strudel, coffee cake, muffins, and of course real southern biscuits) and-- surprise-- all the champagne you can drink. a man who i assume was the sommelier (from the possessive way he spoke of the wine cellar) just kept stopping by and topping off our champagne flutes.

for me it was more like dinner than breakfast or lunch, because i didn't want an egg-based entree. for J it was like breakfast with a side of lunch, i think.

:|:

and in our continuing wide world of food, we had breakfast at CW yesterday too-- at The Lodge, which is, as the woman at the pancake station said, the "red-headed stepchild" to The Inn. i told her that no place that offered large piles of bacon and sausage next to a large pile of hash browns could really be considered in such a way. they had a quite good buffet, and we only wished we'd gotten there earlier.

we also tried a chain restaurant for dinner last night. i think i had never been to one, and J had not been to one in many years. i hesitate give them free advertising, but the initials are R.T. discerning the name can be an exercise for the reader. i was quite pleasantly surprised. they seem to have re-made themselves from being a burger joint to being something a little nicer. i had strawberry lemonade made from fresh strawberries and lemons that they mix at the bar. very tasty. the food was good, but the strawberry lemonade was the highlight.

:|:

a week ago i eliminated caffeine from my diet. the result has been surprising. as i hoped, i am more relaxed, less stressed and have been sleeping quite well. i am surprised to find myself less hungry and far, far less prone to having blood sugar crashes. in general i just feel much better. i did finally have some coffee today after brunch because the champagne gave me a splitting headache, but i plan to continue to lay off the caffeine for a while to come as it seems to suit me.

:|:

i have to hand it to the folks at the carolina auto spa in cary. i gave the spacepod over to them to try and get rid of the rotten leaf and mildew smell that has permeated his interior since fall of '06. they impregnated the porous surfaces with hospital disinfectant, shampooed and extracted, ran an ozone machine in the car for an hour with the engine on and the a/c on full blast, then overnight with the engine and a/c off. finally, they put down another layer of chemicals on the seats and carpets and detailed the interior.

the odor, as far as i can tell, is gone. there's just no trace of it. i am not fond of the disinfectant smell but J says he likes it. i have been letting the car air all weekend, though.

they said that if it creeps back they can re-treat it for up to 30 days for no extra charge. i can also get free car washes during that time.

it cost more than our brunch this morning (even including tip), but after living with the stank for a year and a half, i think it's worth it.

Posted by spacegrrl at 04:28 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

May 15, 2008

smells like spacepoo

spacepod is finally out of mothballs after an hour long transfusion of SHEER RAW POWER from the blue bug, and a jump start.

i took him out to the auto spa today and they removed the crust of pollen and tree goop that had accumulated.

a lot of people have told me how pretty they think the blue color of the blue bug is, but to me, spacepod is the most gorgeous car i've ever seen. after he was all clean i had to admire him in the parking lot.

he's still pretty stinky on the inside, although the vacuuming seemed to help that a lot. i'm planning to take him back to the auto spa some time soon to have the interior shampooed, which might help knock the smell back a little more.

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:39 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 22, 2008

and in other news...

the roswell2k car show has been canceled - presumably for all time. didn't quite make it to the 10th anniversary show-- but i kind of expected that. that's one of the reasons i went last year.

there's already chatter on the list about going out there next year on the 10th anniversary and just hanging out. i'm all for it-- the car show itself wasn't that exciting anymore, and i mainly want to see my bug pals again.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

March 20, 2008

beetle parts

would the person who left a little baggie of beetle parts at my front door today care to come forward?

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:48 PM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

January 06, 2008

Far be it from Ford to be innovative

Ford Plans to Introduce More Fuel-Efficient Engine in 2009

I was intrigued; new engine technology that improves fuel economy is always of interest to me.

this was the money quote, for me:

"Turbocharging isn't a new technology. Some types of race cars have used turbochargers because they increase power by forcing more air through the engine. Ford, in its statement, said EcoBoost also will have what the company calls "direct injection," where small, precise amounts of fuel are injected into each cylinder."

Also, some types of non-race cars use turbocharging and direct injection. Let me spell this out for you:

Turbo Direct Injection = TDI.

Sound familiar? Yes, I've been driving a VW TDI since 1999, and VW has been selling TDI vehicles in the U.S. for a lot longer than that. Because my TDI is also a diesel, I can get fuel mileage into the 50's under good conditions, and typically get around 45mpg in normal conditions.

I'm glad market pressures are finally forcing Ford to put out something more efficient, but it makes me crazy when companies act like they're doing something really new and great when they aren't.

If the Ford TDI vehicles (oh, excuse me, "EcoBoost" vehicles) are gas-powered, not diesel, I have my doubts as to how much of a "boost" they'll get. The convertible was a gas-powered turbo, and it was quick but the fuel economy was kind of sucktastic, with 30mpg being the best it was capable of. That's in a small car; now picture that scenario in a heavy Ford truck or SUV. Yeah.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:14 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

January 04, 2008

She's gone.

The convertible drove away with her new momma just a few minutes ago. A little sad to see her go, but the woman who bought her was so happy and excited that that made it better.

Plus, now I can kiss my credit card debt goodbye! Whee!

And in other pending departures... Gran is not doing so well and mom doesn't think she'll make it out of the hospital. Her blood thinners were causing some issues so they've taken her off of them, which will probably result in a second stroke. Her independent living apartment has already been cleaned out; if she does leave the hospital, it'll be to go to the full care facility.

And Thirteen is not doing so great today, either. Very sad.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 01, 2008

triple threat.

today my neighbor came over and asked me if i work for a VW dealership.

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:50 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

December 25, 2007

newer and blue-er

we went to SC sunday and picked up my new blue bug from this guy:

a few of you know him.

it's a 2001 diesel bug with 100k miles, which is 70k less than spacepod. it's also been meticulously cared for, because that's how dan is.

right now there are three bugs in front of my house. it'll be friday before the money for the convertible comes through.

admittedly, it's not that exciting to drive another diesel bug. it's cute, and it has a couple of luxuries that spacepod doesn't, but mostly it's inexpensive, reliable transportation.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:40 AM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

December 17, 2007

yay!

she said the top looks fine-- unless i get a curveball i think i'll be selling the car for the full asking price. sweet!

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:21 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

tenterhooks.

just got the 'vert back from the detailer. top looks a lot better but it's far from showroom perfect-- as the detailer predicted.

i think the high bidder isn't going to want it-- but i'm on tenterhooks waiting to find out.

after all the dragging on, i'll be oh so excited to actually wrap up this sale.

Posted by spacegrrl at 03:32 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

December 13, 2007

slow.

seems like everything is moving so slowly.

i worked on the convertible roof tonight with two different things. first i tried 303 convertible top cleaner which seemed to knock it back a little (difficult to tell while it's still wet) but i could tell there was still a stain there even after a lot of scrubbing.

then i tried my mr. clean magic sponge and that really seemed to have an effect. it didn't get 100% of the stain but i'm pretty sure it made a noticeable dent. so it's a matter of whether this buyer is okay with a 90% improvement or if that's not going to be good enough.

i also took it to a detail shop today and they basically told me the same thing-- they could probably make a big improvement but they can't get it back to showroom perfect.

:|:

i myself seem to be moving particularly slowly today. it's weird, it's almost like being sick except that i have no other symptoms. i'm just really tired and not energetic.

:|:

i finally worked up enough enthusiasm to put lights on my xmas tree, although not ornaments. the lights are my favorite part, anyway.

i haven't bought a single present and don't even really know what i'm going to give most of the people on my list. guess i'll work on that this weekend, if it's not fully occupied with removing stains from the damn convertible roof. buy stock in the mr. clean corporation now, cause i might be buying a case of those awesome little suckers.

:|:

oh, and i procrastinated on renewing the allpods domain and now it's dead. i'm in a weird limbo where i can't tell if my renewal went through, my registrar hasn't answered my support email, and the domain isn't working... which means that comments on my blog aren't working. i can't find where in moveable type i defined allpods as the cgi url so i can't change it to a working url. i'm not too worried about the domain being stolen because, you know, who's going to want THAT domain? i'm just annoyed (at myself, mainly) at the down time.

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:21 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

December 12, 2007

that was a long drive.

i drove to south carolina today and bought a car, and then i drove back.

they really have a lot of church down there.

the car will be coming to live with me in a couple of weeks. i'll tell you all about her then.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:21 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

December 01, 2007

internet books

okay, if the disapproving rabbits people can publish a damn book, there's no reason i can't write my damn new beetle book dammit.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:05 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

November 30, 2007

CHEAP, Fast, topless blonde for sale!

Time to drop the price! $14,700.

2004 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible
1.8L Turbo engine, 5-speed manual transmission
Cream body with tan top and light tan interior.

Find out more!

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

November 17, 2007

Fast, topless blonde for sale!

2004 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible
1.8L Turbo engine, 5-speed manual transmission
Cream body with tan top and light tan interior.

Fully loaded, 40k miles. 10k miles left on the bumper to bumper warranty which does transfer to the new owner. 40k service has already been performed. Tires only have 3k miles. This car has been extremely reliable and a joy to own.

All records, including original sticker.

This car is so fun, so pretty, and so quick! I hate to part with it. The Monsoon stereo sounds amazing and yes you CAN hear it just fine with the top down! Don't let the adorable looks fool you-- this car handles like it's on tracks and really moves.

Volkwagen called this beautiful color 'Harvest Moon'. This color combo hides dirt and stays nice and cool in the summer.

Electric top is extremely fast and easy to raise and lower. You can put it down or up at a stoplight-- I have many times!

Extra rear wind blocker included-- mounts behind the passengers to elminate mussed hair and makes for a very pleasant drive no matter how fast you go.

See more photos.

$15,700

Features:
Leather interior
Sport seats with adjustable lumbar support
In-dash cd player
Monsoon premium sound system
Air conditioning
Xenon headlights
Foglights
Removable wind blocker ($250 dealer option)
Seat warmers
Chrome bud vase, chrome trim rings on reverse lights and foglights
17" premium alloy wheels
Electronic Stabilization Program
Anti-lock power brakes
Anti-theft alarm system with Immobilizer
Front and side airbags
Automatic rollover supports
Cruise control
Power windows
Lockable storage - trunk, armrest, and glove box - so you can park with the top
down and keep items secure.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:21 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 21, 2007

Travel along with spacegrrl and spacepod!

Starting Saturday, June 23rd, J and I will be driving to Indianapolis, Chicago, then along historic Route 66 to Roswell New Mexico, where we'll attend the annual Roswell2k New Beetle convention. Along the way we'll be picking up other bugs also traveling to Roswell.

I'll be running a live web cam in the car during our travel times and at various times while we're on site in Roswell. I'll post travelogues and photos daily (internet access permitting).

Want to follow along? Visit All Pods Go To Roswell.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:59 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

learning to love the link

so, the exasperating audio link and i have been getting along a little better today.

i don't have to turn off the CAR to switch between the link and the cd changer; i just have to turn off the radio. that's cool. that's ok.

it is possible to use the ipod's UI instead of the dension UI. what i've been doing is selecting the playlist and song i want before putting the ipod in the cradle, and the link just picks it up and starts playing.

not having to manage power cables for the ipod and an fm transmitter is a big bonus-- the link taps into the car's power system and charges the ipod.

a couple of trips to the big blue hardware store helped matters a great deal. heavy duty velcro and some industrial looking zinc and rubber clamps were key items. i can bolt the ipod cradle and xm radio receiver to the clamps and clip them to the grab bar in front of the passenger seat. looks pretty cool and they're easily removable.

right now i'm waiting for the XM radio to pick up my new subscription. it plugs right into the link, too.

finally, i tried out the Tom Tom one GPS today. the device itself seems great, but the darn suction cup mount pops off the dash every five minutes! one more thing to work on.

anyway, tomorrow will be hectic-- lots of errands, spacepod gets his new tats, laundry, getting the house tidied up and packing, lots of odds and ends.

not sure how present i'll be on my blog/livejournal over the next week or so. i'll post an entry with the url to my travel site for anyone who wants to follow along.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 20, 2007

not optimal

actually, that's an understatement. i am most displeased.

i ordered a dension icelink gateway 400 for the 'pod. this magickal device is supposed to let you connect your ipod and other devices, continue to use your cd changer, charge the ipod, and do all this fancy stuff.

harumph.

i let the guy talk me into the one that plugs into the back of the radio instead of the one that plugs into the cd changer in the hatch. mistake.

i removed the radio and the glovebox trying to see if i could get the device into the glovebox. no dice, i couldn't see a way to do it without cutting a hole in the glovebox, wasn't sure there was enough cable to reach anyway, and i don't have the right tools to cut that hole.

hell of a time getting the glovebox back in, and when i finally shone sufficient light on the subject (note to self, get a BATTERY POWERED work light) i was devastated to see that i had scratched up spacepod's dash really badly. my poor baby. like the rust and the mildew aren't enough (and i got an eyeful of those when i was looking inside the dash).

i ran the cables down below the dash. the link device doesn't connect solidly. i don't know where i'll put the ipod cradle, really.

sigh. ok, so i get the dash all put back together and it works and stuff but it's really weird the way it works. the user guide is less than helpful. the UI is crazy and it takes over and forces you to use it's UI instead of the awesome ipod UI that is easy to use and i already know how to use it.

and the cherry on the ass cake is that apparently you have to turn the car off and back on to switch to the cd changer. um, i don't think so!

:|:

on the up side, after i finished up with all of this, i came inside to mail from J wherein he listed out the many tempting and delicious foods he is bringing for us to have on the road. yaaaay!

:|:

so, apparently the motels we're staying at don't have high speed internet access. just dialup.

yay.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 18, 2007

90%

i busted my ass this weekend and i am 90% ready to go.

less than one week til we leave.

it suddenly hit me that i am very tired.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:02 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 13, 2007

webcam fully functional. spacegrrl not functional.

the webcam code is all functional for 2007. thank you, self of the past for writing such thorough code. thank you, co-pilot of the past for writing image resizing shell script which works awesomely.

blog/website largely functional except for fucking comment script fails every time. same comment script as all my other blogs use successfully. only error returned is 500 internal server apache error which tells one nothing. host tech support useless in answering simple question, "is there an error log?" i guess that would be no.

so i need help with debugging. the problem must lie in my blog config or templates. next easy step is to replace the template with a known good template. my ability to debug perl is limited.

road trip mix can be called done. web cam enclosure requires some modification which i will tend to tomorrow if i can. right now i'm thinking beer, tv, and sleep.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:49 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

June 12, 2007

i'll get right on that

i leave for roswell in a week and a half and wow, i am so not ready!

i'm finally feeling the pressure. the pressure takes this weird form where i imagine other people critisizing me for forgetting some ridiculous detail, like not getting a spare headlight from the auto parts store before leaving, or having less than flawless usability on the web site.

it becomes more difficult to separate the true high priorities ("get more insulin for the cat") from the things i merely want to get done before leaving ("make the perfect road trip mix").

i stayed up too late last night and got up extra early this morning so i could take the cat for... er. acupuncture. yes, my cat gets acupuncture treatments for his arthritis. it seems absurd, but after caring for him for sixteen or seventeen years, i feel compelled to make his life more comfortable if i can. and it seems to be helping him; the third treatment was today, and the effects after the treatment are immediate. he stops limping for several days.

i'm using the customizable google home page really heavily now. i've got two separate to-do list widgets, both crammed full. my google calendar is loaded with little green and blue boxes. and i SO love the little theme i applied; a frog and a ladybug frolic all day on my home page. in the morning when i get up, their little animated sun is rising and they are drinking coffee and eating donuts. later when i get to work, they're practicing martial arts. throughout the day they slide on a water slide and... hm, you know, i don't know if they ever have lunch? anyway, at night their sun goes down, the whole page changes color, and they roast marshmallows over a fire and tell scary stories.

i love it.

where was i? oh yes. loads to do. miles to go. so tired. wish i had an iphone. must complete construction of weatherproof isight enclosure which J masterminded. i'll post deets later, but it involved a trip to a harley davidson dealership and a trip to J's favorite big box home improvement store, and it's going to look pretty sharp because he is the awesomest and he is totally going with me to roswell yay!

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:59 PM | Comments (3)

Category: bug stuff

June 04, 2007

old and new are both good

new is good

Today spacepod got a new windshield. It's quite refreshing to see clearly, again.

i also joined twitter; maybe it could be useful in some way for roswell. like during the caravan, it could be a way to put quick updates on the web site for where we are and what we're doing. although, last time we just used captions on the webcam photos for that so i dunno.

old is good

oh my god, it's a De Lorean!

Sadly, I did not get to see its gull wings open.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:39 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

June 01, 2007

wireless?

you know, when the first set of instructions for a wireless product are to "plug it into a power outlet"...

it's not really wireless.

i'm cranking on some creative ideas for the spacepod cam today. i said i'd keep it simple, just do what i did last time, and not make it a big project but...

i can never resist.

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:23 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

May 09, 2007

going back

I drive this car:



view the original reverse engineered ad

i made all my hotel reservations and it looks like spacepod and i are going back to roswell this summer for the big ole new beetle convention.

and it looks like J is coming with; m & b will be going along in their beetle and the stephanies are planning on joining us as well.

we'll be going with the route 66 caravan. which was the promt to get us all on the road.

now, everyone wants to know-- will i do the webcams again? well, tentatively-- yes, at least during the caravan. i certainly have the right co-pilot to help out.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 01, 2007

hot pink new beetle in durham

for those of you who don't read another pink world and who might be interested in this (cough*hella-shoes*cough)...

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:16 PM | Comments (4)

Category: bug stuff

April 20, 2007

spacepod's day

i had planned to attack the basement today, but decided instead to continue work on spacepod.

he's got a new shift boot and knob now, courtesy of J. it was a gift, a very thoughtful one. he noticed that the original boot was worn, got spacepod's VIN once when i wasn't around, and ordered it from his local vw dealer, all as a surprise.

i removed parts of the interior so i could access a clogged sunroof drain and with repeated snaking out, flushing with water and with canned air, i believe i unclogged it. the crap inside the drain smelled like dog shit. seriously.

i organized all of his jumper cables and whatnot into a tote.

i took him to the spa for a nice bath and vacuuming.

i think i've decided i'm going to replace the windshield. in addition to the zillions of tiny specs of... something... that have been cemented to it for years, it's also distincly sandblasted, has a bullseye, and the UV film needs to be taken off, which would cost money. i think i might as well replace it.

there are still many issues to be resolved. i mean, it wouldn't be a trip to roswell if spacepod didn't go to the body shop and get all fussed over, right?

still to do...

panzer plate to replace the useless stock engine shield that has been torn off (again).

body shop to deal with peeling paint, cracked foglight lens, broken door handle

removal of all vinyl on the sides, and replacement of the big symbol (but not the biodiesel lettering)

polishing with zaino polish for scratched paint.

replacement of scratched dash plates.

and ideally-- a lift kit.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:54 PM | Comments (3)

Category: bug stuff

April 19, 2007

paper cd labels are BAD.

Q: How long before lisa finally decides to fix that pesky cd changer?

a while back a friend gave me a cd from his band and admonished me to listen to it. even though i knew i didn't really like his band that much, i put it in spacepod's cd changer to give it a fair listen, because he was a friend.

i haven't been able to use my cd changer since that day.

A: about two years.

Tonight I completely disassembled spacepod's cd changer and removed the offending cd. it took about an hour and was a completely tedious pain in the ass, which is why i waited so long to do it. but it seems to have worked-- i re-assembled it, put it back in the car, and tried a few cd's. they played fine while sitting in the driveway, although the real test will be if they skip while driving. the little springs and whatnot that act as shock absorbers within the cd changer case were the trickiest bits to get back together.

i feel proud of myself, and sitting in spacepod listening to music made him suddenly feel less like the second-class beater in the driveway and more like the luxury-mobile he was when i first got him.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 18, 2007

smart!

like stephanie, i have reserved my next car.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:14 AM | Comments (5)

Category: bug stuff

December 09, 2006

this is how we roll.

More photos from the parade.

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:37 PM | Comments (3)

Category: bug stuff

December 05, 2006

KRAMPUS

this weekend my local bug club is going to participate in the Chapel Hill Holiday parade (Saturday, 10pm - noon, Franklin St), as we have several times in the past.

This year, though, we're actually pretty organized, and we have our best turn-out yet, a good six or seven bugs. A while back a few of us concocted a plan to have my convertible serve as a "sleigh" and the other bugs portray reindeer. M was going to ride in the back of the sleigh as Ms. Claus or something like that.

Well, last night when I met with M and B to work on antlers and crap like that, she proposed that she actually appear as Krampus. Not being the hugest fan of the traditional American Christmas, I was into the idea.

So I mailed the "rein-car" drivers last night to see if anyone would have a problem with this. So far no objections... and one person said she thought it was a great idea.

So... ah... we'll see.....

But if you're local and can haul your butt out of bed in time on Saturday, I think it's going to be worth it.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:20 PM | Comments (4)

Category: bug stuff

November 28, 2006

brave new dubmac world

back in the summer of 2000 i ran a (kinda) live web cam in my vw bug as i drove from NC to NM.

i recall it was not easy to find ideas on the 'net for how to do this. i really just knit together technologies that other people had created, though a fair amount of apple scripting was involved (ugh).

the following year, apparently there was still no more info on the 'net about mobile computing because the fella on the left coast who decided to run a web cam during his ride to roswell basically mimicked my setup.

so tonight i am googling for things and what should i find but a guy who has installed a mac mini in his 2001 vw beetle. which is very cool. had the mini existed in 2000, appealing though the form factor is, i probably wouldn't have been able to use it because power is a problem. you can't just plug a desktop computer into your car cigarette lighter. that's one of the reasons i used a laptop; it's made to be mobile, and good, reliable means of powering a laptop off of 12volt existed back then. with all the other stuff i was trying to figure out, discovering enough about electronics and power supplies to safely power a mini from my car without frying the computer in the process was out of the question.

the thing that just slays me is not that there's now a power supply specifically designed for installing a desktop computer in a car, (well, ok, that does slay me a little), but that they even sell a mac pack to make it easy to use with a mac.

so anyway, in 2007 some folks i know are leading a Route 66 caravan to roswell and i think spacepod and i are going to hit the road again for that trip. now on Route 66 I might not get good mobile phone coverage but I think I should try and run the spacepod cam again anyway. maybe it would be sweet to mount a mac mini and power supply on the underside of the tonneau cover, use a wireless keyboard and mouse to control it and... hmmm... run the video cable up to the front footwell... hmmm... get some vintage light housings from ebay to stylishly protect isights...

yeah this could be cool.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:32 AM | Comments (2)

Category: moses

October 18, 2006

the good news

i took mo in today to follow up on his arthritis treatment and to get a urinalysis done to see if a very slightly off factor we saw a few months ago has gotten worse.

so for the arthritis the vet felt that we are not ready yet for the more heavy duty drugs with the potential for serious side effects. which is kind of frustrating in a way, but also kind of good.

and for the urinalysis, everything is exactly the same. his kidneys appear to be just fine and that one factor is not worse and is very low anyway. so all is good with the mo.

i also spoke with MFM. he did a more thorough road test of creampod than the dealership. his opinion is that this is not a straightforward case of the clutch plate being burned down. the car grabs too well and behaves like a car with a good clutch, except for too little play in the clutch and of course the smell.

he's given me some ammunition to take back to the dealership and get the VWoA tech rep involved to have this investigated as a warranty issue. so i am going to give that a shot. this dovetails with what i suspected anyway, which is that there's a deeper problem here. and if that is covered under warranty-- then VW owes me a clutch.

obviously the situation with the car is not ideal, and it's a pain to have to fight with VW about the issue, but at least now i feel like i have a shot at not having to pay through the nose for this, and that makes me feel pretty good about things.

that and, you know, the fact that my cat isn't dying of kidney disease. that makes me pretty happy too.

Posted by spacegrrl at 05:00 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

October 14, 2006

the two-beetle system is working as designed

the warm weather car has broken down at exactly the right time of year, as the temperature drops. the cool weather car has sprung back into roadworthy-ness at just the right time.

all is working as designed.

ps, i love driving spacepod.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:17 AM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

October 12, 2006

glass half full, or at least one quarter.

although thinking about the many clutches of my beetles makes me IRATE and frustrated, i thought it might be nice to focus on some more positive developments.

first, spacepod is driveable again-- in fact i plan to drive him to work tomorrow. after many jump starts and idling and whatnot, his battery is finally strong enough again that he'll start on his own reliably. i am trying to start him every day, however, because i'm paranoid. and on his next visit to MFM, i'll ask that the charging system and battery be checked.

i think i may have cleared the sunroof drains? he's a little damp inside, but no actual puddles. driving him means i can air him out though and keep the issue under control.

so he's a lot less pathetic and sad than he was. many props to xta for her jump start assistance, and to spkorb and dangerwill for their virtual assistance. it takes a village, apparently, to keep a vw running.

i'm having fantasies of having him repainted in a two-tone retro scheme with the chrome atom symbol on his side done in paint rather than vinyl. but, you know. that's just a fantasy.

:|:

speaking of fantasies, there's this old, abandoned car dealership near my house and i keep having fantasies of buying it, somehow getting the city to re-zone it so i could live in it (ha!) and making it into an awesome retro pad with a zillion tons of garage space. i call it "garage house".

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:41 PM | Comments (3)

Category: bug stuff

October 04, 2006

he's alive! sort of.

christa came over and we succeeded in jump starting spacepod! we pushed him to the end of the driveway so we could use shorter jumper cables, we connected him negative to negative, rather than grounding the negative to spacepod's body (there ain't much metal accessible in that engine compartment), and we let him charge for a while off of creampod that way. and then, with a few tries, he started!

i let him run a good long while, moved him on to the street where i can jump him pretty easily by myself, and i fiddled around trying to unclog his forward sunroof drains (to no avail, i think). and then i shut the windows and sunroof and turned him off. checked the battery and it was not fully charged and he would not start again.

so clearly something is not right in his electrical system, maybe the battery was just damaged by being deep cycled. also, something is clearly draining the battery which is compounding the problem. so a visit to MFM is still in order but i am going to let it wait til next week.

if i have to jump him to get him to nbeast, then jump him again to get him back home, then so be it.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:00 PM | Comments (5)

Category: bug stuff

September 20, 2006

renewed respect

i've always admired the interior of the beetle. the design is harmonious, pleasing, and largely circular. i sometimes think i get the best view of the car while driving it.

i spent an hour cleaning spacepod's interior today. i've removed a lot of the surface mold and dirt. it's startling how easily it comes off of all the surfaces. most require a simple wipe down with a spray of simple green and a microfiber towel. in fact, i suspect it would have come off the cloth upholstery with no more than that, although i did spray that down with carpet cleaner and brush with a clean scrub brush.

i removed the leather steering wheel cover that I added a several years ago. mold was growing on its underside. once i'd removed it, the steering wheel wiped down clean with little effort. the cover itself is ruined, i think, with the strange yellow mold.

i am nowhere near done, of course, but it's good that i've made some progress.

i met with the nbeast folks tonight. i think i have more work to do to get my cars ready for the show than i do to get the show ready.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:36 PM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

September 18, 2006

i need a garage

like, really need.

i noticed that spacepod's windows had fogged up again so i decided this morning to open them and let him air out.

i was a little startled to find that his battery is apparently dead. i guess i let him sit too long.

i was startled to find that every porous surface in the interior (except perhaps the headliner) is covered in white mold, with a three-dimensional, yellowish growth on the leather steering wheel cover.

i almost cried when i saw this. in fact, i should be out there right now cleaning him up and not writing this.

the problem that originally grounded him is that the lower engine shield is dangling by a single bolt and scraping the ground. it had come partially loose and i'd removed two bolts, but could not get my screwdriver angled correctly under the third. faced with indecision: jack the car up, or get a shorter screwdriver, i let the issue slide for, i don't know, two months? the driveway is so dirty, i get filthy whenever i have to get on my back to get under the car. plus rain makes it worse, so i let it slide...

so let's recount the problems:

car is leaking and turning moldy: a garage wouldn't fix the leak, but it would prevent the car from getting wet and moldy inside. i've ordered a car cover as my best current solution to this problem.

battery has died, probably due to lack of use: a garage would allow me to keep the car on a charger. i will find a way to jump-start it, although this might be a real pain if my jumper box isn't strong enough, which it has not been in the past.

need to get under the car to remove engine shield: a garage would make this a heck of a lot less unpleasant, and feasible to do after dark.

i need a garage.

i don't want to photograph the mold, even though it's extraordinary, because i'm afraid i'll become known on the internet as the woman who let her beetle grow fungus.

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:14 PM | Comments (9)

Category: bug stuff

September 12, 2006

NBeast is not just for Beetle nerds!

NBeast is a New Beetle car show (and some other stuff).

NBeast is happening in Durham, at Durham Central Park, on Sunday October 8th.

You're invited!

The cars will be pretty, and the people will be merry! And it will be a lovely day in the Park.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:20 AM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

May 12, 2006

Tantalizing views from Houston

Sarah and Georg are down in Houston at the bigmamajama art car event, and as always I'm finding inspiration in the photos that are coming back. And of course, I am begging Sarah to get details on the ones that use intriguing looking techniques.

I spent an hour and a half working on the Westy last night, and spent much of my drive home today wondering if she'd really make it all the way down to Houston, or if she'd die halfway down there. At least this event is early enough in the year that the weather wouldn't be too brutal (a concern in the Westy since she doesn't, and won't ever have, A/C).

Also of note to me, this photo of a car with a wire sculpture on it. I want to do the same thing, essentially, except with wicker coated in silver paint and epoxy.

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:01 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

March 29, 2006

wanna go for a ride?

the title arrived today, and i got the new car registered and kitted out with a legal license plate and all. i got her at lunch, drove the co-workers around a little, and went to mom's after work for dinner. mom insisted we had to have the top down on the way to dinner even though it was a bit too cold. whee!

the weather should be lovely for the next several days, except for maybe a spot of rain on saturday, so if you'd like to go for a ride, just let me know.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:37 PM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

March 24, 2006

waiting waiting waiting wait... augh!

yes, i am waiting to be able to drive my new car. now don't get me wrong; it was extremely cool of steve to let me drive it down here on his tags so that i would not have to make two trips to complete the sale.

currently, i am waiting for the title to arrive at my credit union. once that happens, i can take the title down to the tag office, give them large wads of money (highway use tax for bringing in a car from out of state + registration fees + cost of tags) and get some kind of tag and registration for the car.

in 35 minutes, i will call the credit union and bug them. if the title is there, i'll have enough time to get it and get down to the tag office before COB today. then i can drive the car to virginia this weekend, and there will be flowers and butterflies and happy bunnies and rainbows and unicorns!

otherwise, i am driving the ever-more-pathetic spacepod to va. he needs a visit to MFM. and despite the fact that i made Actual Efforts this week to get him cleaned properly, he's still pretty dirty (the auto spa was inexplicably closed on a nice sunny day).

that nice young man that i visit offered to drive down here this weekend so that i could avoid taking S.P. up there, which was very sweet. but i want my monthly mini-vacation to Va, and that is that. the S.P will be fine.

UPDATE: no title today. maybe monday.

UP-UPDATE: steve, in his awesomeness, called the loan company and found out that they sent the title to him via regular postal mail. yay. again, in his awesomeness, steve is going to overnight it to me when it arrives. light... tunnel.. end...

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

March 18, 2006

top down car!

"top down car" is what my brothers called my stepfather's '67 galaxie 500 convertible when they were little kids. so now i always think of convertibles as top down cars.

i'm exhausted. christa drove me up to northern va to pick up the car today. we had lunch and hung out for a while with my friend steve, the original owner of the car, and then went down to ikea where we spent two hours and many dollars. and then i drove home, and now there are two beetles sitting in my driveway.

driving a gas-powered car again is very weird. it's too quiet, too smooth. driving a beetle other thans spacepod is very weird. spacepod and i are a team, you know? we've been so many places together.

it's supposed to be kinda cold this week, but steve said that with the windows up and the wind screen in place, you can drive with the top down in fairly cold weather and it's nice, there's basically no wind chill.

anyway. top down car!

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:52 PM | Comments (3)

Category: bug stuff

March 17, 2006

!!!!!!!

tomorrow, if all goes as planned, i'll spend the evening driving home from Virginia in MY NEW CAR.

i'm EXCITED!

i'm not going to tell you any more about it until it's sitting in my driveway. i'm funny that way about cars. i always think i'm going to jinx it.

this car will be my new daily driver, but i am keeping spacepod. mainly because i'm too attached to him to ever part with him, but also because there are some practical reasons to keep him. his blue book value is not really high enough, anyway, to make it worth selling him.

the thing with beetles is that they don't hold their value very well. that's fine with me; it means there's a whole world of affordable used beetles out there for me to buy.

if you're considering a diesel vehicle because of the great fuel mileage and because you can run it on FREE vegetable oil, consider a beetle. it's probably more practical than you think, and it'll cost less than a jetta, or even a golf.

heck, i should open a used beetle dealership. that would put my enthusiasm and beetle nerd knowledge to good use.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:27 AM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

March 14, 2006

all cars need a red-covered switch

The interior of the Spyker Peking-to-Paris just blows me away. Here's the ejector switch.

Just kidding. I'm sure that's not an ejector switch. I'd sure as hell love to know what it is, though.

Maybe one day when i grow up, i'll get to design really amazing car interiors. For cars with names like "Peking-to-Paris".

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:10 PM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

March 13, 2006

Scirocco

Which VW Are You?

Maybe because I chose "unpredictable" as the word or phrase that best describes me. There's a reason that even I haven't ever put the Scirroco on the Short List of VW's I Want To Own.

Speaking of that list, today I spotted a diesel caddy-- the small pickup truck that VW made in the 80's. Now that bad boy is on the short list and has been for some time.. And I love the diesel logo that appears on this VW and no other. Sadly, this one's logo had fallen off, leaving just an outline in the paint. But the "Got 50 MPG?" sticker would have been enough to clue me in to the engine type.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:51 PM | Comments (5)

Category: bug stuff

March 02, 2006

street legal, jet powered new beetle

Ron Patrick's Street-Legal Jet Powered VW Beetle

picked this up from the newbug list... two things i like (besides the whole idea of a jet powered beetle): the fact that it's an automatic, which cracks me up, but i guess with that kind of power, it just doesn't matter if you have a manual transmission or not, and the way he installed the gauges. i've seen a lot of beetles with gauges added, and i think this comes closest to respecting the original design of the interior of all that i have seen. of course, the exposed back would need to be covered to really get it right aesthetically, but he's got the right idea by creating an additional concentric circle.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 21, 2006

another new one

woke up unnaturally early today, went out and got jesus chicken for breakfast. headed over to whole foods to do a little shopping, and had to wait in my car for a little while for the store to open.

a sleek silver minivan pulled up and parked next to me. the woman inside was talking animatedly on a cellphone.

the doors to the store opened, so i started gathering my things. out of the corner of my eye, i could see the woman get out of her van, and pause as the writing on the spacepod caught her interest. i could tell that as soon as i got out of the car, we were going to have The Conversation. i resigned myself to it.

The Conversation went as usual, until the very end. she asked, as most people do, "Where do you get it?" "An Exxon station on Duke Street."

Her face fell. "Oh." and then she said, "Well, I mean, it's just a bummer to support Exxon." Seeing that this wasn't going over well with me, she added, apologetically, "For me." I grimaced a little smile, and walked away.

Coming back out of the store, I looked at that minivan. Most of you will not be surprised to learn that I have some idea of the fuel mileage rating of this particular vehicle.

I wish I'd said to her, "It must be a bummer, for you, to get 17mpg."

Seriously, is there a petroleum company that is worth supporting? I don't want to buy any more product from oil companies than I have to. That's one of the many reasons I drive a car that gets more than twice the fuel mileage of her minivan.

I realize there may be reasons to drive a minivan that can't be covered by, say, a Prius, a Highlander or an Escape hybrid SUV, or a Passat TDI wagon, but that doesn't give her room to be smug.

I really do think it may be time to remove the lettering from my car.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:25 PM | Comments (9)

Category: bug stuff

December 22, 2005

something beautiful for the VW fans

via boingboing.

Photos of VW's transparent factory in Dresden.

This factory is where VW's high-end sedan (saloon?), the Phaeton, is made. I'm not a fan of VW's large, fuel-gobbling vehicles, and unless things take an unexpected turn, the Phaeton will never be something I can afford, anyway. But that's not the point.

The factory is the star here, not the car. If you're a VW enthusiast, an engineer of any sort, or have an interest in human factors, this place will sing to you.

I would love to see the human factors research that went into this place. There's one photo that is very telling– where a platform raises to support the car at a comfortable working height, rather than the car being lowered to the floor. You never see a assembly worker bending or crouching or otherwise assuming an uncomfortable working position (although since these photos are courtesy of VW's media department, they don't show us everything). Just the fact that the place is so beautiful and so clean shows respect for the workers.

I would love to see this place in person some day...

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:56 AM | Comments (3)

Category: bug stuff

November 29, 2005

THE POD HE IS HOME.

and that new clutch works like a little dreamy cloud, oh yeah.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:24 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

the damage

good things include the fact that spacepod is coming home tonight and that his transmission has been pulled in a clean room full of lab-coated experts, sterilized and pumped full of bionic transmission oil. i get another new clutch and the general feeling that the car ain't right, which has been going on for a while now, should magically disappear. also, a new starter, which i've needed for a while. no more embarassing loud groaning noises when i start the car.

the verdict was not a bad release bearing, after all (although i get a new one of those, too), but rather that the flywheel came apart. and had been off-center for a while, hence the not-right feeling at idle.

the fuel filter is due for a change, but we're going to hold off on that. this is the perfect opportunity to clog it up by running the car on B100 biodiesel. once the B100 has cleaned out my fuel lines, i'll change the fuel filter.

bad things include the price tag. well, really, besides not having a car for a week, that's the only bad thing.

MFM agreed that a 2000 - 2003 Jetta TDI would be a good second car. Given how much I am spending on the 'pod today, and how much better he should be running now, I don't need to rush on the second car thing, but i'll at least figure out how i'm going to pay for it and how i'm going to find one (broker... carmax... checking various web sites... or some combination of all three). MFM confirmed that diesels are in very high demand right now, so it may take some time to find one once i start looking.

jeez, it'll be nice to be able to shift again.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:27 AM | Comments (6)

Category: bug stuff

November 28, 2005

the no car thing

seriously, it sucks. it sucks so much that i'm accelerating my plan to let spacepod go into semi-retirement (no, i am not selling him) and have a different daily driver.

jason! helped me jump start the van tonight, but there are electrical system problems, she's not charging properly so i can't really drive her. i wonder if the alternator is going bad.

i got through the holiday and weekend ok, with minimal imposition on others. fortunately my friend from virginia came to visit saturday and sunday and drove me around to a few crucial places, like to feed m's cats and to see 'harry potter'. and go to cook out. i'm a hamburger addict and i have no problem admitting it. in fact, i was on my way to cook out when spacepod's clutch went out. i didn't make it. it was sad.

i also did not go to char-grill at lunch today, but i did manage to catch a ride to, ahem, Large Evil Pacific Northwestern Caffienated Beverage Chain that serves irresistible peppermint mochas at this time of year.

so, as of today the front runner in the daily driver pageant is a used Jetta TDI, preferably fitted out with a waste vegetable oil tank. unfortunately they seem to be expensive and hard to come by, so i may have to scale back to a Golf TDI.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:05 PM | Comments (4)

Category: bug stuff

November 23, 2005

here we go again.

spacepod's clutch finally died today. more specifically, the release bearing. it's been gradually getting worse since this summer.

i was within eyeshot of my mechanic's shop when it happened. in fact, spacepod seems to have done a remarkable job of choosing his time and place to crap out. i don't need to go to work til monday; i didn't have to pay for a tow, and i just went to like five different grocery stores this week to stock up. i even got fun stuff like coke zero and... well, i guess coke zero was the only fun and unusual thing that i got.

so i guess i should try and get the van jumped and charged so she can hopefully earn her keep a little bit over the weekend.

here's hoping this time it goes a little better than it did two years ago when we did this before. MFM says he's figured out a way to avoid the bolts that sheared off last time.

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

October 19, 2005

MFM says...

it needs a new battery. he's going to put one in.

he says the gears feel notchy but at the moment, it's not bad enough to warrant tearing the thing open. could be the synchro mesh going bad.

he also says that when you lock and arm the car, it actually reduces the number of things that draw power from the battery-- it goes into a 'sleep' mode. so my strategy of not locking actually did the opposite of what i intended.

i'm very happy that i'm getting my car back tonight. i've got a trip planned for saturday that i would definitely not want to miss.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

October 17, 2005

fer pete's sake...

(who is this pete, and why do we care about his sake? odd.)

i went for a brisk walk in the woods today at lunch. it was nice, except for the bit where i tripped and fell and nailed my knee. fortunately my jeans didn't tear, so the scrape is not too bad, the wound isn't dirty and my favorite jeans aren't ruined. it's sore though.

i did catch myself on my hands, but so far neither of them feel sprained, which is a relief. there's something to be said for falling on soft dirt instead of concrete.

spacepod ain't right either. i had to get another boost from AAA on sunday, after ray tried to boost spacepod off of christa's honda and that didn't work. the AAA guy had a heck of a time getting him started-- in the end he had to use both his truck battery and his jumper pack simultaneously. i went immediately to sears where they proclaimed my battery was still good and refused to replace it. he's also become quite difficult to shift lately. so he's off to MFM tomorrow.

i've been monitoring the battery with my little analog voltmeter, and i haven't been locking him for fear of the alarm system draining the battery overnight to the point where i can't get him started. the battery will take a full charge, and is getting charged successfully off the alternator. the sears guy swore that if the battery were not capable of holding a charge his little device would not have pronounced it "GOOD", but i'm dubious-- how could it tell?

although to be honest, the shifting issue has me more worried than the electrical issue. i really hope we're not tearing out the transmission, yet again...

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:27 PM | Comments (4)

Category: bug stuff

October 16, 2005

...and then i rode in the alpha!

whee! i finally got to go for a ride in phil's alpha. i've been in more exotic cars this month than i have been in ever before. that's an awkward sentence, but you probably know what i mean.

as we walked out my door, phil asked me if i wanted to drive. while such trust is admirable, given that i'd broken a car the previous day, i declined.

while we were out on old oxford highway, he decided to test out something a friend had told him recently about double wishbone suspensions. he pulled into a nice flat, empty parking lot and did the tightest donuts ever-- no squealing, except from me! he made me squee like a girl. it was fun.

hey phil, you should look into autocrossing that thing.

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:14 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

October 15, 2005

home!

it's good to be home!

travelling with jason/sylvia wrath/sean is always great. these are people who like to eat their way through wherever they are going, and actually put some thought into what they eat, which is a mode of travel that i heartily endorse. in fact, i felt inspired to be more brave about trying new flavors, and ate a kalamata olive on friday night at dinner. the flavor was complex, and some parts of it were good, but there was one flavor that tasted like a medicine that i had as a child, which was not so good. but i could see trying kalamata olives again, especially really good ones, like in that hot almond and olive appetizer at federal.

i didn't go crazy, though, and try to eat eggs for breakfast while hungover this morning. that would have been asking for all kinds of trouble.

the microcar museum was amazing. he even let us drive them! and, sadly, we broke two of them. well, i don't know if we broke them but they broke while we were driving. 50 year old cars are finicky that way, though, and bruce, the man who owns the museum, was very cool about it.

i took many, many photos. they are uploading to flickr now, and i'll sift through and caption them later. jason got a few of me and sean driving that i'm sure i'll link to, once they go up.

i think the citroen 2cv is about the size of a microcar, so it's a little surprising that he doesn't have one-- perhaps they are just too common to be worth the space.

i saw a smart up close for the first time-- i want one. they need to start importing that car to the US, seriously. it's probably bigger than the new mini cooper, and much more swank and roomy inside, plus of course the fuel mileage should be far superior. i might almost be willing to take on a car payment again to get one. might.

yeah, i'm gonna need a garage one of these days...

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

October 08, 2005

a trip to the microcar museum

what jason said.

i'll only be semi-available from tomorrow until we leave, so if anyone has questions, i'll try and answer as quickly as i can, but may not get back to you right away. i don't plan to bring my laptop into the conference, but i'll have it with me at the hotel.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

September 18, 2005

something weird happens every time i go to bahama

"I don't even know where this is," said b. i was starting to recognize things, though. "it's b.. b..." then we passed the bahama fire department and i said, "oh, bahama! hey, the last time i was in bahama this weird thing happened..."

and then b. hit a curve a little fast and i shut up so as not to distract him. the tires squealed and another car was oncoming, so he corrected a bit and-- told me later-- lifted off the gas pedal. the problem is that when you do that in a light, powerful rear-engine car, such as the one we were in, the rear end suddenly becomes lighter and tends to swing around. this is not good when you're also on a curve and heading into it a little fast.

b. corrected a couple of times and i thought he had it, but then finally the back end swung all the way around, we crossed the other lane and i could see some trees coming. i thought i was screwed-- the trees were on the passenger side.

but the crazy thing was that we were ok. we landed in a nice, soft ditch, between some pine trees and a telephone pole-- ass end down, of course, since the back end is so heavy. b. asked me if i was ok, and i said i was. i never even let go of spacepod's keys or lost my glasses. i didn't even get the shakes. just laughed about how lucky we were after we got out of the car and looked at how intact it was.

then we were kinda stuck for a while, waiting on a tow. the fire department came first, then a couple of state troopers.

the tow truck took us up to hillsboro, to b.'s mechanic. there were some awesome cars in the yard, including a rusted-out citroen 2cv, which i was pretty excited about.

anyway, it was a long strange day; i didn't eat lunch until about 6pm (i was about to go get some when b. said, "wanna go for a ride in the porsche?") but except for the whole near-death experience it was actually kinda fun.

i probably need to get out of the house more.

Edit: b.'s photos from the scene.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:13 PM | Comments (8)

Category: bug stuff

September 10, 2005

yet more car-related fun

i have to say that the drive-in was pretty awesome. the starlite was packed and it is really good to see it that way again.

the vw turnout was better than i anticipated. four new beetles, two old beetles, and the transporterwerks double cab transporter, which is a very cool vehicle. the vintage vw folks were very friendly and i got to know a couple of them a little. the owner of transporterwerks was interested in discussing biodiesel, as were a lot of the other vintage folks.

i had heard a rumor that he put a TDI in a vanagon once, so I asked him about that. he said that he never has, and talked about how it's always problematic to do that, takes a lot of time and creates a domino effect of issues. so i think i'm going to table the idea of putting a TDI in the westy someday. he's probably the only person locally who would do something like that.

he said that if there is eventually a standard way of doing it, and it's relatively simple, only then would he consider it.

i didn't expect to enjoy the movie as much as i did. i dunno, something about seeing the little beetle racing the big cars affects me. i'm a sap for a cute vw.

i did stay for part of the second movie so i could hang out with my pal b— who i'd not seen in a long time. he gave me a sip of the new super-mega-alcoholic beer, damn that stuff is good. despite the fact that b— is a fairly entertaining person with whom to watch a silly movie, i didn't stay for the whole thang.

on the way home i met two girls walking down the street. they stopped and told me all about how cool it was to hear the blues from the stone bros parking lot.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:42 PM | Comments (0)

Category: bug stuff

adventures in the industrial zone

seems like a good time to finally switch to b99 biodiesel. that's fuel that is 99% made from recycled vegetable oil.

tried to call the local guy who got the tank put in in durham, then tried to call the co-op. no answer, so i just went on down to the tank to see what's what. figured i'd walk away empty-handed but it's close, so that was ok with me.

oh, how i love the industrial zone. the combination of nature and junked cars and cement plants and unexpected businesses (a funeral parlor, f'instance) makes me excited.

the tank is behind the fence of a mechanic's yard. the mechanic was there and he explained-- you join the co-op, call the local guy and he gives you a key code so you can fill up any time the yard is open.

all pretty cool. i can probably get it all arranged before my current tank runs out.

plus i got those photos of the english car place. they totally need to get sarah to model for them with that mini for an ad.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:25 PM | Comments (1)

Category: bug stuff

September 04, 2005

want to improve your fuel mileage?

This is an issue i've been concerned with since i bought my first new car in 1993. This week I've had a lot of people want to discuss biodiesel with me, many more than usual. People are waking up to the fact that we can't live the way we've been living. Sadly, a hit to the pocketbook is the thing that got everyone's attention, even though the larger picture of air quality, global warming, and finite resources has been well known for decades.

I don't do all of these things myself, but it is good to at least know and be aware of the ways in which an individual can reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, particularly fuels for transportation, which is what I'll be focusing on here.

drive less

the best way to save fuel is to drive less. we all know that staying at home, walking, biking, carpooling, van-pooling, and riding public transportation are good ways to drive less. here are some things that most people don't think about doing.

• know your area so you can plan the most efficient routes. buy a map of the area where you drive the most, and take a good, long look at it. there are roads you don't know about or understand on that map-- i guarantee it. you may be shocked if you trace your usual route to your favorite restaurant or your friend's house... it may be wildly inefficient. if you're going to an unfamiliar location, use your map or mapquest to plan a route in advance-- don't just wander around. i know this sounds like common sense, but i make this mistake sometimes and i know other people who do, too. take that map in the car with you, too.

• plan your errands carefully. this relates back to knowing your area. group all of your outings into one. plan a route in advance that is going to get you to each one as efficiently as possible. i know i often feel fatigued during errands, especially when it's hot. bring snacks and water if you need to, to get through the whole list in one trip.

• we have a sprawl problem in this area (the triangle). find ways to get all of your raleigh stuff done while you're in raleigh, and all of your durham stuff done while you're in durham. or enlist a friend who lives in the area to help you out. the drive between durham and raleigh is not insignificant-- don't do it if you don't have to. it adds up.

idle less

• don't get into traffic jams. if the interstate is always jammed when you go home from work, change your route or your hours.

• don't go through drive-throughs. you wouldn't believe how fast fast-food restaurants are when there's no one inside them (because everyone's in the drive-through). besides, it's nice to stretch your legs and not talk into a machine for your food.

be a better driver

• the first thing i'm going to say, and i know a lot of people will have objections to it, is that if you want to get the most out of every gallon of fuel you put into your vehicle, you must drive a manual transmission. don't kid yourself that the modern automatic is as efficient as a manual or more so. it is not. even the CVT (continuously variable transmission) "automatic" that they put on the mini and the hybrids is not as efficient as a manual. check the epa's fuel economy site if you don't believe me, or just look at the stickers on cars at a dealership.
  • "I don't know how to drive a stick." if an entire generation of baby boomers, including your mom can learn to drive on a manual, you can learn.
  • "The traffic on my commute is stop and go." See above about idling less. I'll also say that I've been through a ton of stop and go traffic in my various manual transmission cars, and it's not the end of the world unless your knees are completely shot.
  • "My knees are completely shot." Ok, then you should probably be driving an automatic. Please consider a CVT hybrid.

• now, assuming that you are driving a stick, here are a few things you can do to get the most out of it.
  • high gear, low revs. if you've got a tach, read it. learn where the "sweet spot" is for your car, the speed at which your car is geared to run most efficiently. in my TDI Beetle it's 100kph, which is around 62mph. don't over-rev.
  • we all know this one, but it bears stating. no jack-rabbit starts! drive like a grandma.

• and regardless of what kind of transmission you've got, don't exceed the speed limit. park it in the slow lane and set your cruise control at 65 or 55.

• note that if you drive a hybrid, driving techniques to get the most out of it will differ somewhat, and are well documented on the internet. please, please research how to drive a hybrid efficiently if you are driving one.

drive a more efficient vehicle

we have a fairly skewed idea of "need" in this country. there are families, businesses and even individuals that need the towing capacity, passenger space and cargo space of an SUV. but we all know that many, many people who drive large vehicles do not really need them.

when selecting a vehicle, assess what you really need. what did your parents drive while you were growing up? during my childhood, my mom drove a '65 vw beetle, then a '78 honda cvcc, then moved on to small station wagons. even with four kids in the house at any given time, she didn't need anything more than that.

driving one of the slowest vehicles on the road-- an '82 diesel vw camper that gets 50hp on a really good day and weighs two and a half tons-- has been eye-opening. how much power do i really need? if i'm willing to avoid interstates, not very much. ok, most people aren't willing to avoid interstates and i'm one of them, but the truth is that we don't need lots of power under the hood. it can be fun, but it's wasteful. i've also come to appreciate that on short trips, driving slowly down back roads is damned fun and oddly, does not take that much longer. on long trips, it's still damned fun. last fall's drive into the VA mountains was one of the best drives of my life and damn, i sure miss driving her these days. slow is nice.

here are my suggestions:

• i'm a big fan of the station wagon as an alternative to SUV's and minivans. it's what my mom had when i was growing up, and there are some options for high fuel efficiency in station wagons that trump what's available for SUV's and minivans. The best that I'm aware of is the VW Passat TDI wagon, which has an EPA rating of 48mpg highway, even better than the smaller Jetta TDI wagon. Since it's a diesel, you can also run it on alternative fuels to reduce emissions and usage of fossil fuels. There are also mercedes turbo-diesel wagons available used; I have a neighbor who uses one of these with a Waste Vegetable Oil tank and he claims it works great.

• if you don't need that kind of space, consider one of the following. most are not still produced but can be found used.
  • the geo metro. it's retro! close to 50mpg.
  • the 1993 honda civic cx hatchback. 46mpg highway, cool "clamshell" style back hatch door.
  • the honda insight. insight drivers regularly report mileage in the high 60's and into the 70's, and insights perform better in terms of mileage than any other hybrid available.
  • the honda CRX HI, which averages around 50mpg. christa reports that she gets in the high 30's in her CRX SI, the sport model.
  • vw golf, beetle, or jetta tdi. i average 43mpg combined city-highway in my beetle, and many tdi owners get into the high 40's and low 50's.
  • vw diesel rabbit. slow as hell, but hey, it just sips the fuel and they're virtually indestructable, which is why you can still find 'em. should be no problem to run on non-petroleum fuels.
  • older diesel mercedes station wagons and sedans. note that the diesel sedan became much less efficient in 1987, i think? or 1986? i met a woman who was driving an '85 or '86 because it was the last model year before the mileage started to degrade in favor of power.
  • many others that i don't know about.

• ok, let's say you don't have kids/dogs or you're really willing to live on the edge. transporting a metal and glass bubble around means you need a bigger engine. dispose of that bubble, you don't need such a big engine and you're using a lot less fuel. yes, i am talking about motorcycles and mopeds. they scare the crap out of me, but they are much more fuel efficient than cars. The other day I saw a woman in a pencil skirt and strappy kitten heels riding a scooter in rush hour traffic on Chapel Hill Rd. If she can do it...

biofuels can help, but be careful

I've been using commercially produced biodiesel for a few years now, but i recently found out that the fresh vegetable oil stock that it's produced from is grown using petrochemical fertilizers. So it's kind of a wash in terms of reducing dead dino usage.

Biodiesel, for those who haven't read my car lately, is diesel fuel made from vegetable oil. Vegetable oil + lye + methanol + agitation = biodiesel and glycerine. You can do this at home in a blender on a very small scale; to produce more fuel, i've met people who just used a big tub and an oar, or hacked something out of an old washing machine from the junkyard.

Piedmont biofuels is a co-op in Pittsboro, NC that makes biodiesel and it's increasingly available around the triangle. check out their web site.

Any diesel vehicle can run on biodiesel without modifications. Diesels can also run on straight, unrefined vegetable oil, kerosene, and a variety of other things. Biodiesel, petro-diesel, and vegetable oil can be combined freely in the fuel tank. The diesel engine was originally designed to run on vegetable oil, the intent being that farmers could be self-sufficient and grow the fuel they needed to run their tractors.

Many diesel owners are retrofitting their vehicles to run on waste vegetable oil, or WVO. A second fuel tank is added to the vehicle to store the WVO, which you can get for free from any restaurant that has a fryolator and a friendly manager. The car is started on a refined fuel (diesel or biodiesel) and then switched over to WVO. The driver switches back to refined fuel at the end of the trip, so that's what's in the fuel lines when the vehicle is started again. VO tends to "gel", which is why it's not ideal to start the car on it.

There's a Piedmont Biofuels pump in downtown Durham and my next task along the path toward eliminating petrochemicals from my life is to go check it out and start filling up there.

I also plan to more seriously consider the dual-tank WVO conversion for the Westy, and possibly for Spacepod as well.

hybrids aren't automatically the answer

be sure to consider the total cost of ownership of any vehicle. maintenance prices, reliability, even tire costs can surprise you. the cost of replacing the big battery in a hybrid can be $1000 or more, and recycling of the old battery isn't necessarily guaranteed.

the only hybrid that interests me personally is the insight; a golf, beetle, or jetta tdi will get comparable or better mileage to all the rest of them and can be run on alternative fuels. hybrids have the advantage in terms of emissions-- they are, essentially, zero emissions vehicles. does biodiesel run through an efficient, modern diesel such as the TDI improve the emissions? yes. is it comparable to a hybrid's emissions? probably not, but the debate rages on. nevertheless, less fuel in means fewer emissions out. that's basic.

here's what biodiesel proponents have to say about emissions. here's some more.

what am i doing?

the main things i am doing now are: planning my driving for max efficiency and driving reaaaallllyyy slowwwlllyyyy. yesterday i had a large SUV stay at a safe distance behind me for several miles as i was tooling down the Durham Freeway with my cruise control set at 55mph. maybe by driving slowly, i can lead by example.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:33 PM | Comments (4)

Category: bug stuff

August 02, 2005

what i'd really like to say is...

a lot of people ask me questions about the text on the side of my car. i get a lot of the same questions over and over, and some of them are kind of depressing. most people assume that it's a paid advertisement; most people ask if biodiesel is "really that much cheaper?"

sometimes i just want to take the text off and have nothing about biodiesel on my car. but if i replace the text with other text.. this is what i'd really like to say:

this is a diesel car that has not been modified. it runs on fuel made from vegetable oil, called biodiesel. yes, it is really running on that right now. no, this is not an advertisement and "they" have not paid for this. i do not run biodeisel because it is cheaper in terms of money; rather, because it is cheaper in terms of human life and damage to the environment.

but that probably wouldn't be very nice, now would it? a little on the self-righteous side.

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:26 AM | Comments (2)

Category: bug stuff

June 18, 2005

GIANT. INFLATABLE. SPACESHIP!

a view inside the conference center in roswell.

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Category: bug stuff

June 17, 2005

CARAVAN SIGHTING!!

just got a call from a co-worker who happens to be vacationing in rural texas-- she just spotted the caravan! she said she saw three blue bugs pull out of a diner together, then join more bugs at a gas station, and she thought, "that must be them!! i have to call lisa!!"

i'm totally hyper now. i suddenly appreciate the point of view of the person stuck at home watching for any little posting of anything online, and i know exactly what i'd do differently if i ever do it again.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

caravaneers

the roswell caravan is looking really small-- only four or five cars so far, and they're only one day out from roswell. hopefully they will run into the houston group at the dairy queen and get to travel with a larger group as they head into town.

for perspective, the first year, i think the final car count coming into roswell together was something like 56? and we had a good 35 cars after dallas. in subsequent years the number has dwindled, but even last year we had at least a dozen going into roswell, i think.

it's a little sad, but it does offer advantages. the logistics of a 35 car caravan are tricky.

anyway, someone is posting pictures, but i need to get to bed i suppose... i'll see them tomorrow.

here they are at the motel in sweetwater, tx.

sweetwater is a tiny little town in the desert, about half a day out from roswell. the first year, we stopped there for lunch, and caused a huge commotion. they trotted out the mayor and the newspapers. spacepod was even on the tv news one year after they interviewed a bunch of us on our stop in sweetwater (i think-- i never saw it). in later years, the caravan pushed the schedule ahead and got there in time to spend the night on thursday night. the motel where we all stay is an old style route 66 kinda motel that has probably never known a major renovation, but is nevertheless well-maintained.

i have happy memories of sitting out by the pool, uploading photos and updating the web site, while stephanie worked on beading a skate costume or just kept me company.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 15, 2005

they're in nashville

i guess the eastern caravan made it to nashville last night and are headed out to texarkana this morning.

this is gonna make me sad....

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 13, 2005

we're really not going.

so i was driving home from work and this silver beetle passes me, and it's got one of those cute jetsons spoilers and a vanity plate, and i start to fantasize about the caravan passing me or something, and about going out to meet them in knoxville as a surprise, and then i realize...

knoxville is tomorrow. if i were going, i'd be leaving tomorrow.

this realization so startled me that i did something i never do, i pulled out my cell phone and called someone to talk about it. of course, the person i called was the one person who would be experiencing the exact same thing. that would be stephanie. we talked my entire way home.

ah well. i sent my webcams off to a friend who is going, so i'm hopeful that i'll get to watch at least the saturday morning activities (he won't be doing an in-car cam, sadly).

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:13 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

June 08, 2005

bio-willie!

willie nelson opens biodiesel truckstop in greer, sc.

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Category: bug stuff

May 28, 2005

is it still a pod if it's all flattened out?

i wasn't thrilled in 2001 when they changed the mirrors on the new beetle. the original mirrors, although less practical, were clearly drawn along the same lines as the original beetle's mirrors.

i feel very passionate about the design of the new beetle. i think the original design was a work of genius-- a design that is so clearly beetle, yet really, if you look at it, actually looks nothing like the original. every curve is a perfect circle, and every surface is a curve. the interior, far superior to all interiors in its price range and to many above its price range, is equally genius.

over the years, vw has changed the new beetle more and more. the mirrors were the first really big change. the new mirrors are safer and more practical (the original mirror design can block the driver's view at certain critical moments if the driver isn't very careful), but not at all in keeping with the original beetle's mirror design. vw basically tacked modern car mirrors onto a decidedly retro car. feh.

well, now in the 2006 model year, they've started to flatten out the curves. i don't hate it, but its distressing that the beetle strays further and further from the original design. the original designer of the car hasn't worked for vw/audi since the beetle went production, and i've learned not to trust the people now in charge of the design.

curious? someone has posted photos of the 2006 beetle to flickr.

i will say that the new beetle convertible is well-executed. the top, when folded, sits on top of the trunk, which is one of the things that gave the original beetle convertible its distinctive look. (modern convertibles almost never do this.) the color schemes introduced for the convertible have had a retro feel-- soft pastels, and a limited edition with a black body and decidedly old-school red leather seats and red top.

as has been noted on the new beetle mailing list, the color scheme for the beetle sedan has lost a lot of its life. metallic neutrals are now more common, rather than bright crayola colors. the car looks good painted almost any color (except the appalling luna green-- fortunately a limited run-- basically white with just enough green to be confusing). but the spirit of the bug demands a certain color palette. it's either got to be a bright little round jewel, or the color that truly makes it look like a jetsons car-- silver.

of course, these unfortunate changes just make the early models all the more special. i hope to keep spacepod for the rest of my life-- and one day, long after he's no longer my daily driver, he'll go to a vw show and we will show them what a new beetle is really supposed to look like.

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:13 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

March 26, 2005

and a few more

1. a gremlin or a pacer. duh!!!
2. a vw corrado. i think i'd take the corrado over the scirocco, even though the scirocco is earlier and more "raw" and therefore in some sense cooler and with more cred.
3. a microcar, preferably a peel trident

yeah, i guess the crx is off the list... not that i don't still admire it a lot, but i guess i don't put it in the dream stable.

Posted by spacegrrl at 04:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

stable of a million

mr. hoopty answers the challenge: how would you spend a million on cars?

of course, his answers are intriguing and gratifying; he and i seem to have some similar tastes, he just knows a whole hell of a lot more about cars than i do. right up at the top are several vw's (note that a caddy is a pickup truck-- that one's at the top of my personal list at the moment) and sure enough, buried down there near the bottom is the citroen 2cv, which is probably #2 on my personal list.

since i can't price any of the cars i am interested in, and since all i can think is, well first i'd need to spend about a quarter of a mil (at the very least) on the house and land and garage to house it all, i'd have a hard time constructing this list for myself. i also like the idea of serendipity in my car choices; the van just kind of came along, and i enjoy the "meant to be" feeling implied in that. i'd rather let luck and chance dictate what's in my stable.

well, with one exception. i would love to have a 1998 vw beetle citron limited edition. i've actually seen one in person, but they're so rare that most people haven't. i'd take it out to roswell, and it would be the only citron ever to go to roswell. and i'd preserve the hell out of it. that baby would be garaged and encased in a plastic bubble. (seriously-- i know a guy who keeps his bug in a plastic bubble in his garage.)

other things i'd generally be on the lookout for include...

1. some sort of mid-sixties british roadster
2. some sort of mix-sixties or seventies station wagon-- such as what mr. hoopty has recently posted about
3. obviously, an aircooled vw beetle convertible of some sort. a triple white would be tempting, but i'd prefer an older model.
4. a 23(?) window bus... you know, the sort of bus with skylights and a huge sunroof. for taking groups of people on picnics.
5. a karmann ghia
6. a delorean! i am a child of the 80's, after all.

the rest would just have to come to me.

oh, and on this week's epiosde of 'alias', the characters were driving around in a bare-metal van with suicide doors. too cool.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:25 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

March 20, 2005

the trip to the desert

i ran across this image today. given that there's a denny's it might have been taken in roswell itself. i don't have enough resolution on the image to tell.

the beetle, the denny's, the glowering desert sky... these images, especially when seen together, are iconographic for me. entering the desert has special meaning for me now. i remember that first year and how incredible it all seemed that we were actually doing this. the astounding experience of traveling in a caravan of 50 beetles through the desert, of entering roswell for the first time...

ok, ok. i know what i sound like to other people when i talk about it. it's not a cult. really :)

anyway, i'm not going this year, but seeing that picture makes me long.

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

December 23, 2004

where have y'all been?

every once in a while, i am a little surprised at what the boingboing crew thinks is newsworthy. f'rinstance, the blurb that's up right now about running a vehicle on waste cooking oil.

i guess this just means that a lot more work needs to be done to make people aware of biodiesel and other means of fueling a vehicle without petrochemicals. there's so much more awareness now than there was six years ago when i first discovered the veggie van folks that i sometimes don't realize how much farther there is to go.

just in case any of you weren't aware:

• biodiesel is diesel fuel made from vegetable oil
• any diesel engine can run on biodiesel without modification¹
• most diesel engines can also run on plain vegetable oil; waste cooking oil can be filtered, heated, and used for this purpose, and can be obtained for free from restaurants that otherwise have to pay to landfill it.
• biodiesel and petro-diesel can be blended freely.
• my car, a 2000 VW Beetle turbo-diesel, has been running on commercially produced B20 (20% bio, 80% petro) biodiesel for over a year now. my mechanic says that the biodiesel may be why it runs exceptionally smoothly, doesn't smoke, and doesn't smell, with 124k on the engine. i made no modifications to the car to do this.
• i purchase biodiesel from an Exxon station at the intersection of Duke and Roxboro in Durham. previously, i purchased it from a BP station at the intersection of highways 70 and 50 in Garner.
• B20 currently priced about the same as premium gasoline, but is usually cheaper.
• i get 43mpg in my beetle, about 30mpg in the van. the van also runs on the same B20. this is the same mileage i got before i started running biodiesel in the bug.

[1] some older diesels may need to have some rubber parts in the fuel system changed out for parts that will not break down when exposed to the much greasier veggie fuel.

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Category: bug stuff

November 25, 2004

crazy beautiful

one of my bug friends is the proud new owner of this stupidly gorgeous citroen 2cv:

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Category: bug stuff

November 22, 2004

oh, the joys of flickr

it's my favorite new toy.

artcar
artcars
artcarfest
artcarparade

citroen
beetle
volkswagen

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

November 04, 2004

chapel hill christmas parade

This year I will be riding in the Chapel Hill Christmas parade again, along with sarah, some other art cars, and a decent assortment of beetle folks (it's looking like we'll have red, green, silver, green, and orange!).

The parade is on Saturday December 4th in the morning; anyone who would enjoy riding along with me is more than welcome to be my co-pilot.

There's a very outside chance I might have 9 Westy in art car condition by then, and if so, i would enjoy having both of my vehicles in the parade... and so would need to locate a second driver, to drive the pod.

Anyway, contact me if you're interested! Or, at the very least, come out to Chapel HIll and check us out!

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

October 15, 2004

what would spacepod look like in 2070?

well a friend and reader of this blog has gotten a sweet role in his company's next game-- lead programmer (congratulations!!). and given the nature of the game, i'm trying to convince him to put a beetle with a spacepod emblem on the side into the game. given that it's set in 2070 after a nuclear apocalypse happens in the 1950's (it's the future as imagined from the 50's), he says it would have to be a rusted out hulk of a bug. that's fine. it'll be like using one of those computer programs that projects what a person will look like when they're old, except on a bug.

kewl!!

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Category: bug stuff

October 01, 2004

suddenly glad my mechanic is a libertarian

funny, mark and i were just talking about the creepiness of OnStar the other day when I dropped off the bug.

government plans to track your every freaking movement while driving.

a more compelling argument than ever to a) drive an older, simpler car and b) stick to secondary roads rather than interstates.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

September 03, 2004

yay, the past!

i've been designing web sites long enough now that the wayback machine now has something to take me way back to.

this one is especially meaningful because, well, it was meaningful, and because the site has since been taken over by someone who is not such a great web designer and threw out the previous designs.

here it is, the first roswell2k site.

pity the images are gone but i'm glad this record exists. it was a damn cool site, if i do say so.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

round cars vs. square cars, steel cage match!!

that's right, the two lisa's will duke it out, round car vs. square car!!

ok, seriously, or slightly more seriously, i felt the need to respond to pinky's comment in the form of another post.

"That has to be the largest collection of cute cars all in one place that I've ever seen. On your page, I mean. Does that Citroen look like a bug from the front, too?"

the front of the citroen is actually more bug-like than the bug! but the messerschmitt has the most insect-like demeanor of them all, i think.

the microcar museum web site has a much larger compendium of cuteness and roundness. they are located just south of atlanta, so a road trip is becoming inevitable.

the voisin biscooter that they have is giving me all kinds of dangerous ideas for how i'd really like to change the finish on the van. screw this blue paint idea, i want an all metal van...

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:28 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

September 02, 2004

disabused of silly idea #33,465

now i do get a lot of ideas. i used to make christa crazy when i'd go into "idea hampster" mode. sometimes i desperately want to act on my ideas. sometimes i do act on them. and sometimes i practically give myself a nervous breakdown trying to follow through.

however, it is possible to nudge me away from something, especially if i kind of want to be nudged. so props to jason for nudging me when i wanted to be nudged. (not that kind of nudging, people. c'mon, he's married.)

so yeah, i decided not to do the crazy car show for the starlite. but i am going to continue with the web site and lots of good online promotion for the various other fundraisers that are planned, like the rock show that might now be two days long, and the car display-only show that carla was already planning.

:|:

now it did get me to thinking about "lisa's ideal car show". something i'd inevitably think up, right? and i realized it on my way home-- it would be all round cars! all of the cars i really love are round.

the citroen 2cv.

the vw beetle (early version)

the porsche 911

the bmw isetta

the messerschmitt

the subaru 360

the fend flitzer

the holy grail-- the peel trident! totally adorable movie of tridents coming out of the factory. sarah needs one of these. seriously. of course, she'd need sidecars on either side, one for lina and one for thirteen.

Posted by spacegrrl at 05:45 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

August 10, 2004

TCB

That's my motto these days, baby. T.C.B.

Called Volkswagen Customer Care to see about being reimbursed for a particularly expensive repair that occured about a year and a half ago. They recently decided to extend the warranty on the part that went bad (the mass airflow sensor or MAF), and I probably got in just under the wire-- I hope. The part clearly went bad long before I took it in, so hopefully that will help make my case.

I have to mail in my documentation and then it may be up to two months before I hear back from them. But sometime this fall I may be getting a decent chunk of change from VWoA. That would be a nice turnaround.

I also finally ordered a birth certificate for spacepod. This is something that they do only for the New Beetles. It's an official looking certificate with spacepod's name, VIN, my name, and some kind of birthdate for him-- not sure what that date will be. She told me his official in-service date is 9/25/99, which is one day after I took delivery on him (I believe). However, he actually rolled out of the factory sometime in August of 99 or even earlier-- I'm hoping that's the date on the certificate.

She told me that they could send me a "milestone" certificate for having more than 100k miles on the Westy, but I decided not to do that. She said they'd sent one of those to someone who had 700k on their vehicle! Dang!! I'll be ecstatic if 9 Westy makes it to 200k and if that's on the current engine i'll be doubly ecstatic. But you never know, with Mark's TLC and me babying it, it could happen...

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:03 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

July 10, 2004

This guy gets paid to write?

This exceedingly lame Autoweek article is inspiring me to continue writing essays about New Beetle culture, and to be serious about it. It's something I'd already started, and could one day be that book I've been talking about for some time. If this guy can get paid to write at the level of a fairly lame blogger, I can damn well find a publisher for my stuff.

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:35 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 26, 2004

hubcap down!

finally lost a hubcap today. it's the one that's had a loose clip since the asheville trip. i was waiting on my "hubcap pullers" to arrive before trying to deal with that situation. guess i shouldn't have waited.

so there's a cute moon cap sitting upside down on a road in cary. i made a couple of passes trying to figure a way to retrieve it that wouldn't endanger me or the pod, and finally decided there wasn't one. i've already got two backup caps on order; i think i'll order more for the trip.

i'm guessing-- hoping-- that the loose clip knocked the other clips loose, and that's why it came off. the clips and caps on the other wheels still seem solid.

i was quite dismayed to discover that the clips are rusting! this means i probably need to remove all the caps and clips, scrub the clips down with steel wool, and paint them with rustoleum. yeah, like i have time to be doing that! hopefully it won't hurt to let it wait til i get back from roswell.

i took the pod in to the auto spa for a cleaning today. i let them get the big dirt off, then this weekend i strip, clay, wax, detail etc. i think they do a crappier job than they used to. they also raised their prices slightly, but apparently today was ladies day, and apparently, i'm a lady. ha!!

or maybe it's not that they do a crappier job, but that after 110k+ miles, spacepod is a little harder to clean. i saw lots of pitting on the front bumper that wasn't there before. fie on me for not keeping the bra on all the time.

oh, and as i expected, the paint on the wheel with the loose clip is all pitted as well, but only in the areas the hubcap covers.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:37 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 23, 2004

whittling down the list

this weekened i did what i really needed to be doing-- spent the entire weekend immersed in the allpods web site.

i spent a good chunk of time at ooh la latte both yesterday and today, and that worked out extremely well. i needed to do some creative work-- design the t-shirt-- and the stimulating environment there was perfect for that. it wasn't so good today for doing coding, but still it was great to get out of the house to do some work.

so the t-shirts are done, and they're pretty cute. here's the design and here's the cafepress store. i was very pleased this year by the number of options for women-- i've got a pink tee and a pink baseball tee coming my way.

i worked a lot today with the webcam stuff that i need for the server side. it's pretty elaborate this year, because i'll be showing miniature versions of the images in the little tv set on the main 2004 page. in fact, i'm in the middle of creating some logic that will display either the live feed or a slideshow of the most recent day's images, while we're on the road, and some yet-to-be-created cute and informative image when we're not.

i feel like i'm doing ok with time, but that's mainly because i'm going to have nearly a week off for the memorial day holiday. if i can go into that weekend with the web site 90% finished, i will feel pretty good about things.

i traditionally go to my mom's beach house that weekend to detail the car extensively, and run a live web cam test. well, i can't this year because my stepsisters got the house for the weekend (boo!). i don't need to do the cam test, really-- after four years, i know what i'm doing. it won't be as nice to detail the car in my driveway, because if it rains or if there's pollen or crap drifting down from the trees, that'll cause problems. but i'll probably be ok.

i'll get another long weekend before i leave-- maybe four whole days, or three and a half. that will also help a lot.

i'm plugging my remaining to-do list into the MORE link you see below. for anyone who is just dying to see it. it's probably somewhat incomplete and inaccurate but it's got a lot of what i need to do on it.

MORE...

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 21, 2004

hubcap pullers

i was actually kind of worried about how i would get the hubcaps off (i need to fix that one loose clip that's rattling around in there). they're on there pretty good.

well, i went out to the site where i bought the clips, to buy more clips to have as spares. and lo and behold, they sell something called hubcap pullers!

i had been wondering why the hubcaps had two pairs of small holes on the outer rim. the hubcap pullers-- which are sold in pairs-- are basically a knob with two bent bits of wire sticking out from them. looks like the wire bits will fit perfectly in the holes. i guess you stretch the hubcaps to free them from the clips.

anyway, i ordered a pair, so we shall soon see.

clever vw folks!

Posted by spacegrrl at 04:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 16, 2004

poll: hubcap loss

ok, the new wheels get their first big road test in an hour or so, as i will be driving to asheville to see einsturzende neubauten tonight.

(side note: i was quite dismayed to discover last night that mary would have wanted to go! i had no idea that she'd be into EN. oh well.)

so... the guy who pioneered this wheel modification, my friend ollie, tends to lose his hubcaps. i've seen it happen. i halfway expect it to happen to me during this trip. so...

how many hubcaps will spacepod lose during the trip to asheville?

• none
• one
• two
• three
• all four!

vote in the comments... folks who are right win a cookie!

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:10 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 15, 2004

wheels. are. DONE!!

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 13, 2004

such as they are!

well, they're not too pretty, but they're loaded in the car (which mark finished at the 11th hour and i was able to pick it up). so i'll have new tires and wheels tomorrow.

i drilled holes in one of the wheels. it was surprisingly easy, but the holes were too small. when i started trying to drill them out bigger, i got a drill bit good and stuck and finally wound up breaking it off with a hammer to get it out.

hopefully saturday i can finish the holes and get the hubcaps put on.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

"i am not a number... i am a free spacepod!"

this is essentially what spacepod is saying to the folks at maxwell vw today.

he refuses to accept the reprogramming code issued by vw for the new instrument cluster.

they don't know when he's gonna be driveable again. maybe today. maybe tomorrow.

this throws a bit of a monkey wrench into my plans to not drive to asheville on slick tires-- because it'll be hard to get new tires installed tomorrow if i gots no car.

well.. unless i got the tires mounted on the new wheels but didn't get the wheels mounted on the car. now that is an interesting idea. i could totally do that.

i'd have to either mount the wheels myself (ugh) or find someplace in durham to do that saturday. but i bet i could work that out.

i swear, my car logistics are more complicated than anyone else i know. i know i bring this on myself, but i also don't know if i can ever go back to driving a box on wheels that can be serviced any old where. i'm lucky i have that luxury.

Posted by spacegrrl at 03:19 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

you wish i'd quit talking about the wheels, don't you?

yeah, i wish i could quit, too.

tried a little compounding this morning. it didn't go well. not much in the way of shine and i started seeing paint color on my buffing cloth, which means i probably went right through the clear, again, despite feeling as if i'd sprayed on tons this time.

but i am fresh outta time, paint, and it's humid as hell.

i'm trying to take the big view. i can probably "fake" some shine using the same stuff i use to make my car shinier. most of the paint will be covered with hubcaps. and no matter how unimpressive this paint job is, i'm gonna like these wheels so very much better than the current ones.

if people at car shows make snide comments about them behind my back (or right to my face), well to hell with them. (and yes, i have heard snide comments about my car at a car show.)

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:42 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 11, 2004

ok, we'll call that "Plan E".

so the cat decided we were getting up pretty early this morning, and i decided to make the best of it by getting a head start on compounding the wheels. you have to rub the clearcoat with rubbing compound to get it to shine. the instructions say it takes some effort to do it by hand so i thought i had better get going on it.

so i'm compounding away, and it's not really generating a lot of shine. so i think i'm not putting enough effort into it and start rubbing harder. it's kind of shining, but not a lot.

and then i realize that i'm rubbing the paint clean off.

@#$%&!!!!!

so i decide that my coat of clear is just too light-- it's not thick enough and i'm rubbing through it. without thinking (after all, it is early and i hadn't had breakfast or even a shower yet), i grab my respirator and start spraying clear on one of the other wheels.

i stopped myself before i'd sprayed very much, went inside, and checked the humidity. 94%. dammit!

now, interestingly, half an hour later it still looked ok. no haze that i could detect. so maybe i won't have to start over on that wheel. but the other wheel i will need to scuff, spray with color coat a few more times to replace what i'd rubbed off, then spray with clear again.

and if it remains humid all day, i will have to enact Plan B after all, and carry that damn de-humidifier upstairs. in fact, i wish i'd done that this morning so it could run all day and get a head start.

i like to feed bad moods with both junk and caffiene, so i polished off two pieces of jesus chicken, some biscuit parts, and am working my way through a grande latte. i find that two shots of espresso in the morning really help me achieve full bitchiness through the rest of the day.

oh, and right now i'm losing the bid for the westy manual that i desperately need. the auction ends during my radio show tonight so i'll just have to post a high bid at an odd amount and hope for the best i guess. hope my competition isn't willing to go much higher.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:27 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 10, 2004

no need to go to plan b.

well, on the way home from work i was contemplating what i fondly call "plan b", which involved lugging the very heavy dehumidifier up from the basement to the back porch in an effort to create a dry enough environment in which to spray clearcoat.

see, my timeline is looking like this, counting backward:

• this sunday: drive to asheville for neubauten show. undesireable to do this on current extremely slick tires.
• this thursday or friday: have new tires installed, hopefully. the paint would need to be done by then, and hopefully somewhat cured.
• this wednesday: new tires arrive. hopefully. maybe start to get holes for hubcap clips drilled.
• this tuesday: try-- before radio show-- to polish clear with rubbing compound and see how it looks.
• today: spray clearcoat.

but apparently the Weather Gods are looking out for my back-- it was 41% humidity when i got home. clearcoat took all of one minute to actually spray on. so far, no cloudiness or whitish haze that i can detect.

i was all crampy and crotchety and stuff and i like to feed my cramps with junk food so i am now eating the most fabulous pepperoni pizza ever.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:52 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

...and the number one sign of burnout is:

thinking, "eh, maybe i should just scrap the whole allpods project all together."

i'm not exactly getting a lot of advance love and support from my fellow buglings, this year. maybe they're just as bored with it as i am. or maybe i'm not promoting it right, or doing something right. i dunno.

i didn't get enough sleep last night so i'm tired, which doesn't help, and i'm totally lacking in focus at work and obsessing over the westy (like... i think i better change that timing belt and i'm not so sure that's a project i should attempt myself).

i'm realizing that i have two more goals with the westy aside from the ones i knew of before i got it (to have a camper, to have a simpler diesel, to learn some auto mechanics, to make an art car). those additional goals are: don't kill the engine. don't kill myself or others.

the timing belt breaking will pretty much kill the engine. ok, better change it. doing a bad job with the timing belt might kill the engine. maybe i better get a pro to do it.

the breaks brakes (jeez, i must be tired if i can't even spell "brakes" correctly) failing might kill myself or others. maybe i better get a pro to do that, too.

eh, i think about this way too much dammit.

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

May 04, 2004

roswell gossip already

gosh, we haven't even left yet!

i mean, there's always gossip. oddly enough, my one gossip-worthy indescretion with a roswell person has stayed out of the gossip spotlight (pretty much). maybe it wasn't all that gossip-worthy after all.

so anyway, i can't tell you how i know, or what i know. but i know. something. something good. really good!

ok, i told christa.

i don't know everything. i don't know the identities of the people involved, though i think i have guessed. it's going to involve a surprise marriage proposal (not the first one at roswell, mind you). and if it's the people i think it is... it's gonna be like watching a trainwreck. emphasis on the surprise in "surprise marriage proposal".

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 29, 2004

the sad story of lance

ok a long time ago (maybe five years or so) there was this dude named lance. he was looking for the same kind of bug that i was looking for, except in yellow. at the time, they were very hard to find. so we helped each other. he was down in n'awlins and i was up here in NC so we'd call around to dealerships and try to get the scoop both for ourselves and each other.

and we got to be friends.

and then we met up at the first roswell event. he was shooting tons of video, just like i was, and he was planning to sell a video cd to event participants. money was even collected and sent to him.

well you see where this is going i guess.

he never came through with the video cd's and just disappeared with the money. i was the last of the beetle people that he corresponded with; he was supposed to fly up for my halloween party and of course we'd even struck up a flirtation. he said he bought a plane ticket. maybe he even did. i last heard from him about a month before that party... that would have been october, 2000.

well now it's some years later and i'm going back through my old web site from the first year and finding the names of people who have disappeared from the beetle world, and i thought, hm...

so i googled him, not expecting a result... he was always pretty privacy conscious.

but here i am with a domain name that belongs to him, and whois lookup quickly provided me with an address and phone number in seattle-- which is where he did say he wanted to move.

so now what? wouldn't it be cool if i could somehow get that video footage from him? no hard feelings about the money or anything like that, i just want to see those interviews and show them to other people. if i called him, how would he react? ok, so he'd never get off his duff and actually send me the footage, if he even still has it, if he even agreed to give it up to me. i guess.

wouldn't it be great if i could get an interview with him? maybe find out what the hell happened?

Posted by spacegrrl at 05:51 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

allpods sneak preview

i've been slaving away at the allpods site the last few days, and i'm getting really excited about it-- i think it's going to be the best allpods site since the first year. i feel like i'm really mastering moveable type and getting the most out of it.

anyway, it's not done yet, but go have a peek!

all pods go to roswell - 2004

there's still a stylesheet problem that is probably going to cause the pink sidebar to overlap with the blocks in the center of the page. if you have the screen real estate to widen your browser window, do so, and you'll see it improve. if not-- i'm working on it :)

there's a lot more going on underneath that one page that you can't see yet.. but it's gonna be cool. rilly!

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:06 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 22, 2004

the wheel project

for those of you who are just dying to find out.

metallic auto body paint is strange stuff. it's like metallic powder with so little binder that it doesn't actually ever seem to be wet. 15 minutes after being sprayed on, it's like a dry powder that can be touched without leaving a fingerprint. a day later, you can sand it with #1000 grit sandpaper, which is less abrasive than baby powder and leaves a smooth, fine finish.

i'm not totally satisfied with the way it's looking-- there's like a streakiness or unevenness in some places. i think it's unevenness in the primer showing through, maybe. fortunately, those areas are all going to be covered by hubcaps-- the areas that will be exposed are looking ok.

christa looked at them through the porch window last night and she said she thought they looked good.

i'll be very glad when they're finished, yet somehow i feel like i'm dragging my feet on this project, and i'm not sure why. maybe because i feel unsure of myself at every step-- and some steps, once done, cannot be undone without going back to primer. if i had to go back to primer at this point, i'd be really bummed.

the clear coat is kind of tricky and two of the wheels will be ready for clearcoat tonight i think. but then-- two wheels will be done! and the next two will be close behind. and i can finally stop driving around on slick tires :)

i'll have to decide if i want to install the hubcap clips before or after getting the wheels mounted. i had once thought that doing that while they're on the car would be easier, but now it seems like it would be easier while they're not on the car. in fact, i should have drilled the holes before i started painting; maybe i should drill them before the clearcoat step.

see, this kind of thing is why i move so slow on this thing. i want to think about every step.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 21, 2004

more excitement than a girl can stand!

the whole westy thing has completely driven me to distraction. i still feel like i don't wanna jinx it by talking about it too much, but... i can hardly wait til saturday.

well, as if that isn't enough... and add in the prince concert friday... now the organizer of the roswell event posts this:

"VW is working on bringing in Dean Jones as the Grand Marshall of the
parade. We're also working on getting a print of "The Love Bug" to watch
at the FREE drive-in on Sunday night."

this will be the first year that VW has been involved in roswell, and it could be a real turning point for us-- if it's not the last year.

i love "the love bug", not just because it's all about a bug, but because of the main female character. i think i've probably written about this before, but she's totally my role model. she's poised, graceful, feminine and well-groomed; she's as good as or better of a driver than most of the men in the story, and my all-time favorite scene is when she pulls a coverall on over her beautiful wool suit, and proceeds to diagnose and fix herbie after her evil boss has poured sugar in his fuel tank-- while all the men are standing around, scratching their heads.

so i would be most excited to meet Dean Jones (the star of the movie), and to watch it on the big screen, at the drive in, in a bug.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 19, 2004

about to crawl rite outta my skin

i talked to the van guy on the phone. things sound promising. i don't want to gush on and on about it here for fear of jinxing it but i'm wired, i'm totally excited. i'm gonna try and have a look at it this weekend.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 17, 2004

the wheel project

today dawned warm and dry, so i decided it was finally time to paint my new wheels.

procedure:

• with great effort, pry off unwanted ugly plastic hubcaps.
• remove every single thing from the screen porch.
• sweep every inch of the screen porch thoroughly, including the walls and ceiling. twice.
• get a stepstool and clean years of dust off the ceiling fan in the porch.
• get hose from front yard; transfer to back. unkink hose.
• hose off entire screen porch including ceiling and walls.
• squeegee excess water off of porch floor; close door and run ceiling fan to dry.
• go out to patio and scrub down wheels with simple green and a scrubber, to get off about an inch of brake dust left by PO. bring onto now mostly dry porch and cover with sheets to keep the majority of dust off them while they dry.
• realize that i'll need to remove the lead weights and valve stems before i paint; the lead weights came right off but the valve stems basically had to be sawed off. ugh.
• line interior of screen porch with clear plastic sheeting which i have cleverly saved from my last painting project.
• clean wheels a second time, with windex and paper towels.
• lay paper dropcloth out on floor of porch.
• go over wheels with swiffer to remove all dust.
• wait a while; no more dust has settled on the wheels so it appears i've created a reasonably dust-free environment.
• read instructions for painting yet again.
• scuff wheels with #600 sandpaper
• fit respirator and attempt to wade through detailed respirator instructions
• spray first coat of primer.

that's where i am now. the primer went on strangely spotty-- i hope it doesn't have a texture when it dries. i think it'll need at least one more coat to be fully primed. the can was dripping all over the place, i have no idea why. i really really really should have worn latex gloves, and will for the rest of the project. i'll also wrap it with a rag or something. it's probaby already giving me hideous cancers.

Posted by spacegrrl at 06:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)

Category: bug stuff

all good

i talked to neil (aka van boy) yesterday about how much a good, running diesel westy with all the camping gear should go for. it was more than i was thinking-- a lot more. he said he paid $4500 for his and that was on the low side given its good condition.

so i went to bed thinking, "i can't do this. no way."

but, as always, sleeping on something gives me clarity. i realized that if i did do it, there is a smart financial way to handle it-- a home equity line of credit. the interest is low, and tax deductible. but that should really be saved for home renovation and emergencies-- using it to buy a car that i don't need is a little iffy.

then this morning i got some comment spam on an entry from january that i'd forgotten about, called camper desire. i went back and read that entry, and, more importantly, the one right after it, daily driver.

i had not completely forgotten that i wanted a second daily driver to help keep the miles down on spacepod, but until i talked to neil yesterday, i think i didn't really seriously consider that a diesel westy could be a really viable daily driver.

but they can. the first thing neil said to me was, "diesel westy's-- they're great." he's put 23k miles on his and it's got around 140k total miles. as long as you don't push the engine too hard, it's pretty sturdy. and when it goes, replacements are cheap and easy to come by.

the notion that i'd be able to drive it to work and on trips reliably puts things in a whole new light. neil also said they're one of the simplest cars out there after the aircooled vw's-- therefore, a reasonable learning platform.

i heard yesterday from a friend in raleigh who knows his way around cars pretty well that he's willing to help me if i get in over my head mechanically; he'll also go out to look at it with me if we can work out the timing.

i'm still waiting to hear back from the seller. i may write to him again and tell him i'm a lot more interested than i realized. hopefully it's not already sold.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 16, 2004

greasy westy lust

ok, so i have a thing for diesels, and i have a thing for volkswagens, and i have a thing for camper-vans. i just think they're neat.

i'm not a gearhead, but i'd like to become more of one.

i'd really really really like to have an art car one day.

so i paid spacepod off this month, which means that right now i'm poor, but in the coming months i'll have basically given myself a $400 a month raise. which is good. that's a lot of money.

so here comes this guy who is selling a diesel westy (vw camper van), of which there are very few in this country, and he's right down the road. and the thing was a daily driver and sounds like it might still be a viable daily driver.

but a) i don't really have the money right now and B) (capitalized, because i figure i can work money stuff out eventually, so this is my bigger concern) i'm not a gearhead and i don't wanna wind up with a big, immobile metal bread loaf parked in front of my house.

but damn, there are some cool things i could do with this thang... and another one is not gonna just magically appear and be a few miles away. there just aren't that many of 'em.

Posted by spacegrrl at 11:36 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 14, 2004

posted from my phone

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Category: bug stuff

April 10, 2004

posted from my phone

Posted by spacegrrl at 04:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

posted from my phone

Posted by spacegrrl at 03:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

posted from my phone

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Category: bug stuff

April 07, 2004

the big ass to-do list (BATDL)

inspired by sarah, i've put together my first comprehensive roswell to-do list. now, it's my turn to scream and panic, although i have two months and not just one.

car:

the wheel project
- order correct rubbing compound
- clean back porch
- put up sheets on back porch (dust)
- paint wheels
- order tires
- have tires mounted
- call about spider caps... ????

vinyl decals
- get one-time use files from kirk for r2k decals
- get r2k decals, biodiesel text, and repairs to allpods url done at sign shop

detailing
- order needed zaino products
- arrange to detail car at beach mem day weekend

seats
- decide, upholstry or covers
- order/schedule

gearshift (if time)
- select & order gearshift knob and boot
- replace

bra
- get tape residue off bra (from parade)
- fix torn areas if possible

general mechanical
- schedule oil change and checkup
- inspection (may or june)

booth:
- get table dimensions from david
- design for vinyl banner, order banner
- plan what to do with cube
- plan how to pack cube safely
- plan other things to do with booth. IDEAS???
- easel with poster on foamcore?

web site:
- finish implementation of design
- plan MT structure
- implementation in MT
- full implementation of map code
- photo handling?
- video handling?

video:
- plan follow-up interviews
- get interview with tyler
- do i need a better mic?
- test out iMovie on the new powerbook

web cams:
- d/l software to powerbook and test
- repair broken cam mount
- recruit web cam car in parking lot, in case sp is inside

packing:
- decide if we're taking the back seat or not
- create packing list

service contacts
- complete compilation of service contacts
- post to web site
- print

trivia
- unknown, hopefully steph and bj will do all the work.

printed materials
- determine what is needed
- design/ print bizcards
- design/ print any needed posters, mount on foamcore if needed

music:
- get ipod repaired (set it off today) or replaced

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

April 01, 2004

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrowl!

the most powerful diesel engine in the world.

now that's what lisa calls a white noise generator :) sure hope they run it on dead plants, not dead dinos!

Posted by spacegrrl at 03:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

March 18, 2004

seminar on salvage yards

via the old north durham email list:

Please be advised that the seminar on salvage yards
and automotive repair shops has been confirmed for
Tuesday, March 30 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the
3rd floor conference room at the main branch of the
library. Please share this information with members of
your pacs and other community interest groups. Please
contact me if you have questions or comments. Thanks.

Lenora S. Smith, MS
Project Director
Partnership Effort for the Advancement of
Children's Health (PEACH)
NC Central University
PEACHLEAD@aol.com

sounds fascinating, though i'm not sure what junkyards have to do with children's health. if anything.

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Category: bug stuff

March 16, 2004

posted from my phone

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Category: bug stuff

March 15, 2004

posted from my phone

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Category: bug stuff

posted from my phone

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Category: bug stuff

February 10, 2004

everything's a project

so i posed the question to the newbug list... should i claim the repair for my beaten-up front-end on my insurance? or not risk a rate hike or being dropped, and pay for it myself?

and i realized that the answer i wanted was, "claim it." because that's easy. i drop the car off at the body shop, the insurance company hooks me up with a rental, all no problem.

of course, that's not the advice i got. most of the advice i got was, "fix it yourself", which i'm pretty sure i can't do. corollary to that is, "search junkyards for the parts you need." which is probably sensible.

but that means that this is a project. the projects are fast building up. the month of may is going to be largely spent travelling, which means i need to be ready for june (roswell) by the end of april.

there are many roswell related projects to accomplish in february, march, and april; but there are also many non-roswell projects as well. the xdu site, the nbeast site, and the old north durham site spring to mind. i suppose further work on the house will have to be put off and that i must, reluctantly, now start prioritizing and putting aside things that can wait.

sigh.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 16, 2004

ilovemycarilovemycarilovemycar!

ilovemycarsomuch!

i didn't even realize how much i missed him until i got him back.

mary was asking me about him being in the shop, and i told her that i am hopeful i can take him to 300k miles, he is running so good at 100k that this seems very possible. and then when he reaches 300k, he can retire completely and i will put him in a museum. the Museum of Spacepod. and then we will be listed on the roadside america web site, and people caravaning to roswell in the year 2020 will stop by the Museum of Spacepod to see the car that helped start it all.

and i will even have his original release bearing to display in the museum.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 15, 2004

spacepod all better now.

got a message from jeff; spacepod is ready for me to pick up.

whew. i thought i would hear from them earlier, so i was afraid something else might be wrong. i'm relieved.

Posted by spacegrrl at 03:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 14, 2004

"...but he did save your transmission."

kind of weird to find out after the fact that one's entire transmission was in danger of needing replacement-- because of two badly engineered bolts-- but that one's mechanic has saved it by spending the morning drilling said bolts out.

so replacing the bolts, which hold the transmission in place, is a little more, but there ya go. i kind of want to bring mark cookies or something; he didn't have to drill the bolts out, he could have just said, to hell with it, she can buy a whole new transmission.

jeff sounded even sadder than usual when he told me all of this, and kept saying, "i'm sorry".

he said the clutch plate would have gone in about 10k miles, so this was coming. at least it didn't happen while i was on the way to roswell... which is where i'll be in about 10k miles, i think.

yeah, i don't even like to think about that...

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 12, 2004

another gem from Woody

from the fella on the bug list who is cannot write worth a damn. posted specifically to make jason apoplectic again.

the topic at hand is extended warranties, and the companies that offer them.

"Hello folks

Back in the mid 70's they were introduced, most all went upside down. At
least those I was familiarly with. With the
introduction of the bunny and a little time, there debt was so great, even
our dealer and a lot of others in No Calif
dealers did. So far the only warranty I know is with the purchase of a used
VW. It's called a VW Certified. I know
this, as I used it. A complete long block (eng) and a power steering
pressure hose. If you want an extended
warranty be very careful, they are expensive and also look for coverage and
a deductible."

now, i am guessing that "the bunny" is a reference to the vw rabbit.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

narrowing the car thing

i think i've narrowed the car ideas down a good bit and am trying them on for size, mentally.

• a used golf, cabrio, or cabriolet; i'd need to find someplace local and reasonably priced to take it for service, though.
• an aircooled beetle convertible, ghia convertible, or thing.

i'd prefer the latter, but i would definitely have to find some good back roads to take to and from work. even the back way that we discovered years ago is getting a little busy. i took it today, and imagined what it would be like to drive that route in a car without much in the way of acceleration or braking power, a car that i wouldn't want to take over 55mph. it was a little scary.

i like the aircooled idea because i want to learn how to do my own work on a car. it's been making me crazy that i'm helpless when it comes to something i depend upon so heavily. aircooled is by all accounts the easiest system to learn on. it also means-- hopefully-- very little cost overall.

i like a beetle, ghia or thing because i know i could tow any one of them with spacepod.

and i like a convertible because... well, because it's a convertible!

but of course, i am sure i'll change my mind again in a few days. just watch.

Posted by spacegrrl at 08:43 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 11, 2004

daily driver

ok, i am facing the reality that sometime in the forseeable future-- like before the end of 2004-- i'm going to need to have a new daily driver so spacepod can get a break and go into semi-retirement.

problem is, i can't make a decision about what kind of vehicle that new daily driver should be. sarah asked me what i was considering, and i wrote out the whole long list, which i'm going to re-post here, more for my own records than because i think it will be of great interest to other people.

too expensive to buy and/or maintain:

• a new new beetle or nb convertible
• a used new beetle or nb convertible
• a new golf or gti
• a eurovan w/ weekender option
• a honda insight
• a mini
• a used late model golf, gti, or cabrio

may not be reliable, but i could learn to work on it myself. not safe in a crash by current standards. would have to wake up earlier b/c driving it over 55 every day would spell an early death to the engine:

• an old beetle
• an old karmann ghia
• an old crew cab

same issues as above, but with higher initial cost and may be harder to work on myself:

• an 80's vanagon w/ camper option
• a diesel '82 vanagon camper
• a diesel rabbit pickup truck

other options:

• a sensible used honda (yawn)
• christa's crx (i may not be able to wait that long!)
• someone else's crx
• an old vw cabriolet (the rabbit convertible)

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:49 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 10, 2004

camper desire

i really want a vw camper van. i love the utter utility of them; they're like gigantic, breadbox-like swiss army knives.

but to say that the many versions of this vehicle are confusing would be a mild understatement. vw fans have a tendency to assume that you know as much as they do about the subject, and even though dreadlocks boy gave me "bus 101" once upon a time-- which included a foray into the vanagons-- i can't say that i'm much the wiser. for some reason, i find it totally confusing that there could be either an aircooled or a watercooled engine in what is roughly the same body style (the early vanagons).

so i was delighted to find this page, which pretty much explains it all.

sigh. i'm working myself up to the idea that i'm going to have to have a second daily driver sometime fairly soon. i don't know that one of these things would really be suitable though.

i should just buy an inexpensive used honda. but i'm kind of addicted to the vw thing now.

Posted by spacegrrl at 09:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

time for a new clutch.

i was right, it's the clutch. mark says the release bearing definitely has to be replaced, and he figures he'll have to replace the whole clutch once he's in there. it's not cheap, and most of the cost is labor. jeff says it's a full day job. so if anything looks like it'll need replacing any time soon, mark might as well go ahead and replace it now.

mark said he felt no slippage so it should not need a new flywheel-- which is good because that would be an additional $800.

jeff hooked me up with a really nice loaner jetta. he says it'll most likely be tuesday or wednesday before spacepod is ready.

big props to dave for rescuing me the other night-- and to christa for taking me to get the loaner yesterday.

Posted by spacegrrl at 04:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 08, 2004

...and now it's fine again.

so apparently before i drive it, i need to have someone come look down in the hood with me.

charles went out and had a look at it with me. i wish i had my bentley manual with me; charles noticed that it looks like the xmission linkages are just cables that can be adjusted, possibly without tools.

we also found some loose black foam rubber floating around below the xmission stuff which i pulled out. god knows what the hell that was.

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

yep.

finally decided to cave in to char-grill craving at lunch; car decided we weren't going to char-grill, or anywhere much.

same problem as last night... can only get it into gear with great effort.

interesting new facts: the problem goes away completely when the engine is off. starting the car while in first with clutch pushed in results in hesitation while starting and rough idle.

i'm guessing clutch problem, but what do i know?

maxwell can't see me til tuesday (Stupid New Guy answered the phone, dammit. I hate talking to him.) so this may be my big chance to try the new place in cary.

this stuff really stresses me out.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:13 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

January 07, 2004

the car knows it's out of warranty.

suddenly, on my drive home from work, i could barely get spacepod into gear. it seemed to get worse as the drove wore on. by the time i was pulling into my driveway, i was trying to get him into first (after trying to just coast in while in neutral) with both hands and couldn't do it until i really put some muscle behind it.

this is all gears, though 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are the worst. this is definitely sudden. i've had some troubles getting into first in the past but shifting into second then first usually was quite easy. in fact, i recall doing some of that this morning with no problems.

i tried putting the clutch in and out multiple times with no improvement, and i'm definitely getting the clutch all the way in.

crap crap crap crapcrapcrap.

i just know this is going to be expensive.

Posted by spacegrrl at 05:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (1)

Category: bug stuff

December 07, 2003

chapel hill christmas parade

the parade went brilliantly. well, except that sarah and georg weren't there :(

dan and i went to pick up the keys'... and they were cleaning their cars. of course! they're pretty fanatical about the car cleaning thing. i'm not so much. in fact, i did a piss-poor job of cleaning spacepod, but honestly-- who besides a car geek is going to notice? even at the slow pace of a parade, people are so overwhelmed by the spectacle-- and are so busy reading the lettering on my car-- that they're not going to notice that my wheels could be a little cleaner.

nevertheless, we had plenty of time to decorate the cars and do last-minute touch-ups when we arrived at the parade line-up. after i'd gotten spacepod, a very enthusiastic woman who was going to be marching ahead of us with a brood of children with signs around their necks insisted on having her picture taken with my car and the alien santa.

Other pictures...
* Spacepod sporting his beaded bra
* Inky, Inky again
* Kirby, Kirby again
* Rhythm, Rhythm-- antenna detail
* Spacepod, Jingle bell ass!

(I really love the jingle bell wreath on the luggage rack, so i'm going to leave that on and see how it fares in the winter weather. Hopefully it'll stay nice looking til christmas.)

dan had the brilliant idea that we should drive in a staggered pattern with spacepod and kirby on the left, inky and rhythm on the right. we were very fortunate to have such a good color assortment-- blue and silver, red and green. we had our walkie-talkies so we could talk to each other during the parade, which was fairly amusing.

my boss' boss lives in chapel hill and has little kids. he was at the parade last year, and i wasn't too surprised to see him again this year. i spotted him well before we reached him and pointed him out to everyone over the radio. he's got a good sense of humor, so i told them that they should feel free to give him some hell as we passed by. he was looking elsewhere so i thought we were gonna sneak up on him, but he turned and spotted us coming, and much to my surprised he pointed at me and started yelling! i think it was something along the lines of "HEY! HEY! BIODIESEL!!!" it was actually pretty damn funny. and tim said he yelled "GIVE LISA A RAISE!" as he passed by :)

the local am station, WCHL, was doing live color commentary on the parade. they were a bit baffled by us as we passed; we were listed under "art car" on the parade roster, because sarah just added us to her original registration, and we were also out of position, so they couldn't figure out who the heck we were. so they sent a guy over with a mic to talk to me as we passed. since there was no way to gracefully explain that we were registered as art cars, but weren't actually art cars-- nor was there any point-- i put on my best radio voice and plugged the hell out of Newbug Carolinas . we may not be a very active club-- well, ok, we're not active at ALL-- but i might as well get publicity wherever i can!

about 3/4 of the way through the parade, tim suggested we try to do some fancy driving, like the shriners on their little trikes. we did a little weaving, but just didn't have room to do anything really cool. i was actually pretty busy trying not to run over the cub scouts in front of us, because they kept darting into the crowd and back to distribute candy. due to the 14" christmas tree in my bud vase, it was a little difficult to see :) but that's something we'll have to plan for next year.

(another note for next year-- bring hot beverages and some food. it's cold, and i found out later the keys' never had breakfast because they didn't have time.)

just as we entered carrboro, my cell rang-- it was tyler . he's a freshman at UNC now and was pretty excited to hang out with us. well, i really wanted to talk to him so i answered my phone-- and of course one of the parade spectators started yelling at me to get off my cell phone. "You're breaking at least three laws!!" sigh. I told Tyler I'd call him back after the parade was over.

there was one particularly crowded point where the street was quite narrow and there were HUGE crowds on either side of the street. someone asked me to honk my horn, which i did rather timidly. the whole crowd cheered! it was pretty amazing, actually, i didn't really expect a reaction like that!

it's a pretty long parade, and smiling, waving, not running over cub scouts, keeping a manual transmission car going at a semi-steady 3mph, talking on the radio, and trying to keep warm all takes a toll, so we weren't sorry when it was over-- but everyone was pretty elated, said it was a lot of fun and they definitely seem to want to come back for the parade again next year. so that's good.

we arranged a well-coordinated pickup of tyler from franklin street after the parade, and then headed out to the q shack for lunch. sarah and georg did meet us there with undersea mah jongg. i think nicky especially loved sarah's car, and tim said that he may take the golf that he's saving for nicky and make it into an art car to sidestep the body work that it needs.

tim likes to fix things for other people; i think it's one of the ways he shows affection. anyway, he noticed that my aluminum billet antenna had gotten bent-- i must have done that while removing the decorations too hastily. but he fixed it! it's perfectly straight now-- and he noticed that it was developing a haze of oxidation. "Shel-- get the billet cleaner!" she emerged with a bottle of this lavendar stuff, which he used to polish the antenna back to its original sheen. tim rocks! he makes me feel kinda bad that i don't take better care of spacepod. oh well.

there's more i guess, but i'm tired of writing, and you're no doubt tired of reading.

Posted by spacegrrl at 01:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

December 06, 2003

bugs in the house!!

dan arrived tonight; actually, he's here right now, he's connected to my wireless network with his ibook, and he may very well be blogging , too :)

we went out to wash the cars and happened to run into tim, shelley, nicky and mark at the car wash. my driveway ripped dan's front grill out partially, but tim says he can pop it back in for him tomorrow morning. whew.

we stopped by the vw dealer to check out the cars. they've got TONS of convertibles as well as hardtop bugs. actually, an incredible number. finally saw a couple of the color-matched tops-- gray on aquarius blue which i like better than i thought i would, and beige on beige.

sadly, sarah has decided she can't leave lina for most of the day tomorrow, so she's not going to participate in the parade after all. however, she is going to meet us for lunch. when i heard about the care lina requires due to her leg surgery, i did wonder if it was going to be ok to leave her so soon. and, as it turns out, it is not.

well. probably oughta hit the hay.

Posted by spacegrrl at 12:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)

Category: bug stuff

December 03, 2003

parade, or art project?

with me, of course, it has to be both. i spent part of the evening beading my car bra.

Posted by spacegrrl at 10:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

December 02, 2003

a parade to remember!

ok, i know no one likes to get up early, but y'all should come watch me and sarah in the chapel hill christmas parade this weekend.

it starts at 10am and goes til noon, right down franklin street.

undersea mah jongg will be in full effect, with tinsel, christmas decors and the bubble machine turned up to 13.

spacepod will be decked out in 120 feet of tinsel garland, with bows and a jingle bell wreath on his ass. if i get it together, the aluminum christmas tree will be mounted on his roof.

my friends tim & shelley keys will be coming down from virginia in their trophy-winning red and green bugs.

and now it looks like my pal dan will be coming up from SC in his blue bug, and he's looking to mount an 8-foot inflatable santa on his roof.

now that's worth getting your ass to chapel hill at 10am on a saturday morning--right?

if you are going to come spectate and want to lunch with us after, get in touch and i'll let you know what the lunch plan is.

Posted by spacegrrl at 02:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Category: bug stuff

November 04, 2003

beetle talk

so i took spacepod in to the hoity-toity "auto spa" in cary-- a special treat that we get to have less and less often, not because it's especially expensive (for $10 they clean him both inside and out pretty thoroughly), but because it just takes so dang long these days.

anyway, the clientele generally runs to soccer moms with huge SUV's, retirees with huge SUV's, and the occasional cellphone-wielding young man with a BMW sedan. i don't think i've ever seen another bug there-- but yesterday a silver bug pulled up right behind me-- and the owner noticed that i have a diesel and said he wanted to ask me some questions.

his was also a tdi, as it turned out, and he wasn't sure that it sounded right. he said he was bothered by the noise. now, i've always loved the way spacepod sounds-- a little more butch than your average car, but not downright agressive. i realize that this might just be a tdi fanatic thing. but from what he said, his auto tranny was not downshifting properly when going up hills and the engine was lugging.

we wound up having quite a lengthy talk. he had an interesting perspective on the car-- he said he wanted to keep it for a very long time, and was very pleased to see another silver bug with over 100k miles and the paint still looking really good. but he's clearly not into car modifications or showing the car, or having the car as a sort of museum piece. i think his desire to keep the car in good shape was more to save money and the environment.

at the end, he said he felt a lot better about things; he said he'd try driving it a little more agressively to see if that gets better performance out of the auto tranny.

RRRRRR! yeah!!

Posted by spacegrrl at 07:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)