Pete J.

My '74 911 had a door cover on the front left fender that had two caps. One was gas, the other was washer fluid. I had to stop gas pump idiots more than once trying to put gas in the windshield washer tank. Oh, yea, that was back in the day before self service.

Matthew is definitely still in business. He may be working on the web site. Stay tuned.

I love it when they get to that point also, then I say this: "You don't like it when I waist your time? That is easy to fix, don't call me!" They generally hang up and don't call back.

Same show different names depending on which side of the Atlantic you saw it on.

Ya beat me to it. Danger man was the predecessor of The Prisoner. Both were Patrick McGoohan.

Bingo! You must be "of a certain age"

For those of a certain age, this will be an easy one: "I have one word for you, plastics. There is a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?"

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Just guessing but I would say it is a group C land speed record car from the "C" preceding the number and the flat aluminum wheel covers.

Nope! I was going to offer him $60 and would have paid that. So let that bother him.

I can see a use for a scale ruler(I have several from my drafting days) in that it eliminates a step but a scale calculator??? Do you need a change calculator too? Lets see, she gave me back a quarter, a dime and a nickel, but the calculator says it should have been three dimes and two nickels.

Excellent description Art! Anyone who wants to use auto lacquers should read it carefully or learn the hard way!

I think my darned head is going to explode. I bought a slightly used Starrett dial caliper off the internet knowing that it was damaged but usable but I got it cheap. I did this because Starrett has a repair program that just can't be beat. $85 and they rebuild it and spec it out to new specs. Cheap at 4 times the price. Only down side, it takes 6 weeks for the repair. Got it back a month ago and was using it to check the diameter of some of my wire gauge bits. I set it on my lap and reach for another bit. Next thing I know, crunch! It hits the floor. Now Starrett makes rugged tools and the chance of damage is low. Well, not my luck. It landed on the one spot that could damage the internal works and it did. The dial is jammed. Back to Starrett and another $85. The good side is that I went down to my favorite machinist junk store(candy store for metal workers) looking for a replacement to get me through and he has no dial calipers. Digging through the used tool selection(he has a ton) and I find a Starrett 1" micrometer in the box, with a little staining but everthing looks good except for a little Prussian blue on the handle. It zeroed out so I figure it will do to finish sorting my drill bits. I ask him how much, he responds with "Whats it worth to you?" I figure, what the heck, I got nothing to lose, "$40" He says "That'll work". I throw two $20s at him and run! A useable $230 tool for $40. That softens the blow of paying another $85 to Starrett.

This one didn't take nearly as long as the last one. Love this car in powder blue.

Actually, you can. I have a '93 MR2 turbo with 125,000 miles on it and exactly 2 door dings. One of which came since I owned it. I don't take up two spaces, but I do park were no one else wants to or I pick a couple of expensive cars to park next too. I don't annoy anyone by parking in two spots or any thing else, I just pick my spots carefully. I don't park next to work trucks, minivans or SUV's. If a car had a lot of dings I don't go near it. I try to pick cars that show pride of ownership. It's not hard and often I get a little extra exercise walking.

When I started to work at Sears 17 years ago, there were a lot of long term employees around as in ones with over 25 years experience and the company ran like a clock. We had a smallish cadre of older, experienced FT employees and then hired a bunch of mostly college kids that the old timers taught the business too. We didn't expect the part timers to stick around because once they go their education they went off and did what they were educated to do. This business model worked well because we had young smart beginners and seasoned teachers and paid both a good wage Then it all changed and by the time I gave up on Sears two years ago there was one person selling appliances with over 20 year and everybody else had less than 3 year. I ended my career at Sears as a commissioned sales person and in the time I was there, commissions had been cut so drastically most employees were making minimum wage. I couldn't stand it any more. That business model will eventually collapse on itself.

This is the old "grass is greener" thing and it has been gaining momentum for years now and not as a result of the younger population. I am not sure where this started, but it seems that companies have the attitude that they need "fresh blood" to keep the company competitive. They are willing to pay more for an outside employee than the give a competitive raise to an internal employee to do the same job. This is why you see these horribly expensive CEO's jumping from company to company and making ridiculous salaries. This philosophy has carried down to the entry level workers. Companies no longer view a long term employee as an asset any more, just someone they can replace with new ideas.

Rattle can blues man, we all sing that tune. Bill's analysis is spot on. For that reason, I have found that it is best to store rattle cans upside down. It may look a little weird on the shelf, but that way the pigment doesn't settle around the dip tube. Also, I have found that the domed top that most cans have means that the glass marble inside will rattle around that dome a little easier and mix the paint quicker that it banging into the dip tube at the bottom. Also, if the valve leaks it just lets the propellant escape and doesn't leak paint all over. You can always decant the paint out of a rattle can even after the propellant it gone and it will be usable in an airbrush. Just a couple of tips from someone who has been using these things a while.

Yea, Quad didn't really last that long. One of the nice parts about the 949 is that it had a multi-pin plug in the back that you could turn over and drop the quad and double the output in stereo. Every once in awhile when the kids next door are getting a little loud, I pull the speakers down(big honkin Kenwoods) put them in the window and get out the Royal Scotts Dragoons and let blast Amazing grace in full glorious bagpipes. Shuts the little buggers right up!

Prepare to have your mind blown! Quadraphonic Pioneer QX-949 with vinyl! Yup, I got it in 1975 at U-Tapao in Thailand. Still works just fine!

I am not opposed to helping out my kids or others doing the same thing, it is the attitude that someone is "entitled" to support from their parents. You can't walk or run if you can't stand on your own two feet. Learn to live on what you have. Pay your own way and get on with your life. Don't complain the Mommy and Daddy aren't going to pay for your stinkin ticket to come home for the holidays.

Just saw an article that just twisted my tail. A young lady was complaining that her parents had just informed her that if she wanted to come home for the holidays she was going to have to pay for her own airline ticket. Now she is 27 and makes $40,000 a year. Her complaint centered around the fact that her parents had paid for the ticket all the way through college and for the 4 years after she graduated! The ticket was $200. At what point in a young persons life are they required to grow up and stop sponging off of their parents! As soon as I graduated and went into the military as far as I was concerned, I was on my own. If I wanted to come home, that was on me along with everything else! I am a firm believer in giving a child a good start in life, but after that, it is up to them.

Amen to the above. Been using automotive lacquers for 20 years and love them. I thin them somewhere between 6 and 8 parts thinner to one part paint to get the consistency right. At this rate a quart of DuPont lacquer will last me for another 20 years. I have not gotten into the two part paints yet but I am sure they will work just as well. If you decide to do this I have a simple but effective process for you. Rule #1 Pick a manufacture and get all your stuff from them including thinners. They are meant to work together as a system. Rule #2 Get a good thermometer that also displays humidity. Rule #3 Get a small notebook and every time you paint write down the temperature, humidity and the mix rate of your paint. Then describe what happened, both good and bad. After a little while you will have a bible that will guarantee success. Rule #4 Thin your paints accurately when you start. This BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH about "to the consistency of milk" can lead to problems. Get a container and measure up the side like a graduated cylinder and be consistent. If you do it the same way every time you will get good results with a little experience.

The main reason I decant it, is the fire hose nozzles on Tamiya cans. I like the paint but prefer the precision of the airbrush. Big difference. Since I can't buy lacquer here in SoCal it is the only source. Also on some Tamiya models they call for mixing different paints to get the correct color. Kind of hard to get two or three rattle cans to mix.

I don't know about Testors but Tamiya does. http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/tamiya_spray/kit85001.htm You just can't buy them in the good ol' US of A! They have a hard enough time importing them in rattle cans. I think the guys at the EPA would go ballistic if you could buy 100ml of synthetic lacquer. Here in the peoples republic of California, Jerry Brown's head would explode if he knew that regular people off the street could buy something with lacquer thinner in it!