Oktoberfest is both something I look forward to and resist thinking about until almost the last minute. While I do look forward to the gathering, it’s also the acknowledgement that Summer is at an end. Given the long, wet wait we had for Spring this year, I'm not necessarily looking for Fall to show up anytime soon. OK, accept and move on. Originating in Germany, Oktoberfest is a Fall festival celebrating the season’s harvest which blurs the period between late September and early October. …

We usually name our cars. My VW Passat is named Max, while Jans VW Tiguan is named Maxine. OK, no points for imagination but there it is. My old Saturn VUE was "Scooter" and Jans old Saturn Aura was "Lola". My old 1938 Chevy street rod was simply "The 38." It didn't warrant more effort due to the demanding nature of it. My GTO is now firmly in that camp. I now simply refuse to give it a proper name. But if I do, the most likely candidate is "BWTM." It translates to But Wait...There's Mo…

Yes, it’s finally done! The new speaker setup consists of replacement front kick panels with extrusions which accept 6½” round Kenwood speakers (KFC-1696PS) and 6”x 9” Kenwood speakers (KFC-6996PS) in the rear package shelf. The speaker bezels and screens were paint-matched brown for more of a factory option appearance rather than an aftermarket add-on look. The drivers’ side front kick panel extrusion required me to modify the parking brake pedal lever slightly to provide enough clearance bet…

Almost Done… Well, they say that Spring is almost here but you couldn’t sell me that idea by looking at the weather. Because it’s been so cold and rainy, I’ve been a bit halfhearted at getting the GTO down off the blocks and prepped for the new driving season. There’s the usual stuff like wiping down the underside of the car and performing a chassis lube job and oil change. I also pull all four wheels to wipe down the brake calipers and suspension bits. Then I clean the wheels and tires, and…

Although I did build new Windows 11 machines for Jan and myself because we needed to be productive immediately, I didn’t want to spend that kind of money to replace the remaining PCs and the laptop that we have. So, I’m constantly on the lookout for a Plan B. I did look closely at Chromebook. I even tried installing the ChromeOS in one of my old PCs. I found them to be fine for school students but too restrictive for the type of use I’m accustomed to. Like I said earlier, I’ve been dabbling…