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Just going to jump on a small soap box for a moment. I love transformers. My kids and I enjoy it together. We bought all of the old cartoons and all of the movies over time. It didn’t take too long for my kids to realize that the Bumble bee in the movies was different from the one we remember in the cartoons. Camaros are cool, I admit. That being said, Bumble Bee is a bug. It only took movie makers 6 films to figure it out. They finally got it right. Bumble Bee is one of our favorite movies. This is one reason we got the bug to play with. The steering wheel in our bug was not original, so, I don’t feel bad about using the rotary tool on it to custom fit the replacement horn. I found a place on line that offered a universal horn that had the Auto bot logo on it. Corny! I don’t care. I feel good about adding this small modification to make my kids happy. I took a gamble and ordered the horn as it stated that it fits all steering wheels with a 2 inch hole. I measured and it was close enough to gamble on. According to my luck (as Murphy’s long lost nephew) of course it didn’t fit. I took the opportunity to teach my daughter how to use a rotary tool to force objects to give me what I want. We marked up the holes and traced the horn and began to slowly make cuts to the soft inner ring inside the wheel and after a short while, it fit and snapped into place like the new horn was made for it. I figured if we failed, a whole new steering wheel is around $30 so it fell into the nothing ventured nothing gained territory. I also got to teach her how to wire the horn up since the blade connectors did not match with the bug. We decided to wait until the car was more complete before fitting the Transformers logo so we can enjoy the cherry on top of the ice cream.

Still on Covid-19 lock down, so, we are doing what we can as we can. We last left off with the bug starting but quickly stalling out. My daughter and I revisited the auto-magic choke adjustment and finished making it do what it is supposed to do. We found a few procedures on line that had better detail than the first one and this time, the markings on the choke system lined up better and the flap moves when the car warms up as it should. Once we completed testing on the auto choke, we turned our attention to adjusting the idle as the car still wasn’t running as it should and starting was still a bit slow. We did a lot of reading ahead as neither one of us has ever worked on a carburetor before. After gaining what we thought was an appropriate amount of knowledge, we trudged out to the bug and opened the engine compartment. Since she loves to start the bug, I couldn’t resist watching her light up as the car started. Of course, it died right away. We made the suggested preliminary adjustments and I let her start it back up and showed her how to keep it running with the gas pedal. We worked together on it for the next several minutes by adjusting and readjusting until “Bee” finally stayed running. Even though it was rough, it stayed running. This is the kind of progress I like. I called her over and showed her the effects of turning the screws and making the adjustments until she felt like she understood it. We kept adjusting until it smoothed out and stayed running without help from the throttle. At this point, our inner Imps took over and we decided that we should try to drive it around the yard. Once I calmed the kids down from the excitement of driving in the yard, I moved the truck out of the way and started the bug back up. Here is where it got interesting for a minute. This is an Autostick. This means that it has a stick, but no clutch pedal. I had watched a couple videos on how to drive one of these and they didn’t cover much, but I muddled through. We found that we needed to adjust the R.P.M.s higher to accommodate the Autostick. After making the adjustments, I was now able to shift through the gears and feel the car lurch in the right ways. This indicated to me that I could safely back it out of the garage and test the brakes. I warned the kids to stand clear and moved the car into reverse and backed out slowly. The brakes seem to function. We will spend some time at a later date inspecting them more thoroughly. Today, however, we DRIVE! After I was confident that we could move safely, I invited the kids in and we drove around the yard laughing and carrying on not caring what the neighbors thought of us. We have great neighbors. They are all nice and easy going and fun to talk with. After we had run our course, I pulled back into the garage and shut the door. What a great day.

The awakening!

So this will be a shorter story. Now that we got “Bee” home, it was time to deal with a few things. I have an out of state inspection to get done. No dice. Covid 19 has started to set in and the BMV is closed. Since everyone on the planet is talking about that one, I am going to leave it there and move on quickly. The lock down is not quite so locked at this point, so we called on my dad to come over and lend a hand since none of us know points ignition systems. My dad is truly one of my favorite people to solve problems with. His steady hand and level head mixed with his years of experience and good sense make him a real joy to work with. The kids were very excited to get to work with Grandpa on the beetle and share this experience with him. The night before, I snuck out to the bug alone and figured I could help set the stage for Saturday’s fun. I found that my hands are a bit large for bug work, but with the right tools, I can accomplish stuff. Many years of lawn mower first starts I remember the words clearly from dad “it only take 2 things for it to work, gas and spark.” armed with this, I set out to remove what I thought to be the easiest spark plug to access and rotated the motor to see if I could see a spark. No such luck, so I put my tools away and awaited for the expert to arrive so we could approach it together in the morning. A good sleep and better coffee later, Dad pulls in. We had a very nice greeting and catch up on the latest goings on and then went straight to work. My daughter and son were super excited to know that Grandpa had his own beetle long ago. We opened the engine compartment and gave it a look. I explained that I had pulled one of the plugs so we could watch for spark. It seemed like a good place to start, so we tried to start it. As expected, only revs from the starter. At least we knew that worked. I hear from the driver’s seat “No spark!” so I pulled the key out and walked back to dig in further. We opened the distributor and gave a look the points. Yep, they look a little burnt and chipped. I looked at the local parts stores and they all had what I needed for less than $20. With new points and condenser in hand, we returned to the garage for round 2. I also picked up a set of feeler gauges as in my reading, I see these used a lot and they were a whopping $11. Good thing too as we needed them to set the gap on the new points. So, we set about the task of replacing the points and condensers and now we get spark. In a 2 part equation, we are now half way there. Now we are down to gas. We looked over the carburetor and it looked pretty clean. I was told by the previous owner that it was new. Now, I am sure it was, but more on that subject later. Sufficient to say, I am glad I found VolksBitz.com. The link is now on my links page. I knew this project would lead to meeting new people, but I am especially happy with this place. Back to the gas. I also knew that the bug has been sitting for 5 years which does not inspire confidence in the gas in the tank. More like condensation. Thinking ahead, I had purchased some octane boost and some stabilizer for the little bit of old fuel that I could not drain. I also filled up the gas can with some fresh gas for startup. Before adding too much fuel, we pulled off the oil bath air cleaner (very carefully) and set it aside. We then played shoot some starter fluid in the carburetor and turn the key until the vehicle burps. Oh yeah, we did put the spark plug back in for the detail oriented people out there. We also checked the gap and color and decided they were not bad enough to warrant replacing all four plugs. A couple key turns and the noise the bug mad was like a St. Bernard being poked by a smaller dog. Hurumph! It burped again. Now, it was time to add some fuel and see if we can keep it running. It’s ALIVE! It briefly started and quickly died again after letting go of the gas pedal. We now know it is a runner. The kids are dancing and laughing like this is the best thing they have ever seen. I am a happy and proud dad. Grandpa then turns my attention to the electronic choke. He is sure that it needs to be adjusted to start out closed and I have no reason to argue. We worked the flap and other moving buts until it seems to move freely and found a couple short tutorials on how to adjust the automagic choke. After completing the procedure, we can now keep it running for about 20-30 seconds before it dies. Once we made it this far, we decided to stop for the day so Dad could get home to be with Mom. They are so cute!

So, I was actually looking for a classic mustang. I found one, but the seller did not contact me back and I must admit, I got a little impatient. It was an average Saturday morning, and I was looking around on eBay when I saw a little Volkswagen bug. The auction only had about 30 minutes left on it and the price was in the range of what I was willing to spend. I am not really an impulse buyer, but, I think in this case, I may qualify. I put down a bid and won the auction. This was the easy part. I fully intended to pay for the car and then hire a shipping company to deliver it. Sounds simple right? This is exactly what I should have done. The seller emailed my back and thanked my for the deposit. We connected and thing started to get a bit complex. The clear title that the bug owner had in a different state, was missing meaning that he had to apply for a new one. No big deal, This is a hobby project and I am in no hurry. During this time, I decided to do research into shipping companies and found that it would be about $600 bucks to ship the vehicle right to my doorstep plus or minus $100. A few more phone calls took place between me and the seller and things are starting to get slow. He applied for the title and of course things have changed a bit since the last time he had gone through anything like this, not to mention that neither one of us has ever dealt with state to state car titles. The closest I have come to that was an old motorcycle I bought from a lifetime friend whom I trusted for many years. Still all a go for shipping the vehicle as he gave me permission to list him as my representative to sign the bill of lading for the shipping company. The next phone call revealed that the car had not been registered in 5 years. In that state, this means that the electronic records are the wiped out and transferred to MICROFICHE. We were both stunned at how anyone could still be using such a thing, but then we decided that it was typical government slowdown and that we simply had to wait for the designated person to pull and print the physical records. With the title still in limbo, I started to do more research on how to transfer titles in the state that the car was in. Just like many of the websites, these were not very helpful. It looked more and more like I had to personally sign the title and be present for for the title transfer. With this in mind, I started to work on figuring out how else to get there and then transport the bug back home. U haul to the rescue! They would rent me a truck and a car carrier for the low price of $800-$900. I also would have to drive 8 hours 1 way, learn how to move a non-running bug up onto a trailer that I know nothing about and then drive another 8 hours home. Oh Yeah, and then the COVID 19 starts up UGH! My wife then asks if we could borrow my father-in-law’s truck. This changes things. Now the cost of rental drops to $150. The truck only has a hitch, so I had to buy a ball. Finally, I get the phone call from the seller. The new title has arrived and he is ready to do the transfer. My wife happens to be the best trip planner I know. She took care of packing and planning and even picking up the truck and trailer. She truly is amazing. I think it is important to note as well that I wake up 345am each day to drive 1.5 hours to get to work. Keep in mind this also means that I drive that same distance home after working all day. Friday after work, we hop in the truck and start on our 8 hour journey to meet our new beetle. We have tried to keep this as a surprise to our kids, but they are just to observant to be kept in the dark. However, they are still not 100% certain that this is happening. All they knew is that Mom and Dad were leaving for the weekend. We drove about 6 hours or so, planning on having a nice 2 hour finish in the morning. The road conditions were wonderful and the spring weather was perfect. As a result, we only had hoodies with us as the weather is beautiful and we are both clouded by the adventure we are taking on. We stop at a big chain hotel that was the newest one on the strip. We went inside and asked for a room and they promptly started digging in to our personal information so they could sell it off and build up their marketing. I offered to pay in cash as this is what I had planned for. In today’s world, if you carry cash, people look at you like you are some kind of drug dealer or mobster. The person behind the desk informed me that they do not take cash at night. Very disappointing that a big chain such as this treats paying customers like we have the plague, but, I was too tired to fight about it. I handed over the card and then found out that their credit card machine would not take my card. We tried another. It would not take that one either. As a telephone repairman, at this point I am sure that their machine is broken or not programmed correctly and now am faced with the catch 22 that they don’t seem to take money of any sort. I ran out of pirate’s treasure at the gas station so they were just out of luck. I looked at my lovely wife and stated that it seems like this hotel wants us to find another place to sleep. The person behind the counter got really uncomfortable and sheepishly said that they would cancel the room as I was half way out the front door. I did thank them even though I was very unhappy. God had something else in mind. We drove next door and visited a Best Western where we got breakfast included (unlike the place that does not accept payments) and it was done at half the price. What a blessing. The breakfast was very good. We got back on the road and alerted the buyer that we were about 2 hours out. We then got a call from my dear friend whom we were going to meet on the drive back we were only about an hour away from each other. We chatted for a while which made the drive go nicely and planned our meet later that day. Things all seemed to be going smoothly. We found the place where our little bug was parked and were met by a friendly face which reminded me of my mother uncle. He was walking out just as we were pulling in as he had perfect timing. We were both pleased to finally meet in person and got straight to work on filling out forms and moving towards loading up and driving home. My wife opted to stay with the truck while I went with the seller to the local title office and wait in line. We went to the office and got there in the nick of time. We had just pulled our number and then the crowd started pouring in. we were only there for about 40 minutes. All was good and right with the paperwork and now we had to figure out how to roll the car out and load it up. By the time we returned to the bug, my wife had it pulled out and lined up to the trailer. I know “Amazing!” and gorgeous too. The seller was quite impressed and stated that we should just get out of her way as she was pretty close to being done without us messing it up. I had suspicions that this bug was not going to be easy to get up the ramps with only the 3 of us and 5 years of static storage. I found that I could buy a manual winch with a 32 foot steel cable for under $30 and with a couple additions from the local hardware store we could likely make this work at least once. With the car lined up, it was my turn to engineer the winch to do its duty and pull the car up. This was more difficult than I had anticipated. I got the device bolted on, but the space was awkward enough to make it so I had to leave the nut off of the hand crank to allow it to turn all the way around. Hey, even MacGyver’s devices often only worked once and then broke down. I am not ashamed. I cranked that winch until my arm hurt and got it just up on the trailer before the crank stripped the bolts and fell apart. After a quick breather, I was content that we only had to go forward now instead of up and forward. With all three of us, we managed to move the beetle to the right spot on the trailer and begin to strap it down. We did find a strap in the back of the truck, but , it did not seem to be in working order. It is possible that I just don’t know how to make it work. Fortunately, U Haul was correct that we did not require any additional straps to tie the vehicle down. After losing quite a but of blood from the broken winch and some other clumsy behavior, we got bandaged up and back on the road. We looked to the great google to find us an alternate route that didn’t involve another $85 in tolls. We were on our way to meet our friend and his daughter from dinner and thought we should at least check on different routes. The GPS lies! It told us that we could go around the toll road and save time and distance. BOGUS! We then went on what i call the tour of the airports. We saw 3 or 4 airports while traveling through every city and traffic jam near the coast. I soon realized that the tolls are totally worth paying. Then it started to snow and sleet. So there we are driving in the mountains and the storm was reminiscent of the hobbit when the stone giants were hurling rocks and the rain was so bad they could not see in front of them. We decided that if we stopped driving that we would miss our buddy and it might be worse in the morning. All this time, the GPS is telling us that we only have 3 hours until we arrive at our destination. It said that for about 4 hours. We called our people and they were pleasant and patient. They arrived ahead of us and waited there for us to arrive. We had a great dinner. The diner specialized in burgers, and, well, I love good cow sandwiches. We had a great little break with our good friends and got back on the road. We drove the rest of the way and got home around 2am. We crashed and then awoke to start returning the rental trailer and papa-in-law’s truck. We made the rounds and picked up the kids. It was a wonderful feeling when they saw it in the driveway and both got very excited. Of course they named it Bee and want it painted yellow. This was chapter 1 in the saga of the Bee.

It may be difficult to read in the flip book view. For an easier read, press the download button and you will see it in your normal PDF viewer. Enjoy!

Good evening, I have a few things in the pipe for this year. I have finished up a Christmas play, I will have some pictures of some sculptures that my daughter made and of course some more music. As most of you know, I am a bit of a tech guy as well as a bit of a music guy. This is a fertile ground for MIDI stuff to bloom. This could be an exciting development in the right hands. Below is an article on the release of MIDI 2.0. Time and Tech are marching on and I think this could be a double edged sword. I am all in favor of higher resolution in the options available to the writers\performers. However, as someone who has spent hours looking for the “right” noise, or “exact inflection” from a MIDI expression, I feel like this is going to lead a lot of amateurs and professionals alike into countless, sleepless nights getting lost in the details and drunk with the new found power of limitless flexibility. I do believe that MIDI 2.0 is a good thing and will bring great things in hands of wise artists and producers. With great power and all of that. Enjoy!

https://qz.com/1788828/how-will-midi-2-0-change-music/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Good afternoon,

I posted a new tall tale adventure. I hope you enjoy.

Good evening! I have uploaded the last song of the 2018 project. It is called Be My Foundation. I have also remastered I’ve got a mansion, Hold me in Your Hand, You’re so wonderful, and Take me away to soften them up and make them a bit more pleasant to listen to.