Colin visits SF East Bay (Livermore)

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airkooledchris
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Re: Colin visits SF East Bay (Livermore)

Post by airkooledchris » Wed Jul 18, 2012 6:20 pm

SlowLane wrote:
airkooledchris wrote:the one thing I tell myself that i'll do 'next time' is take pictures.

so far ive never followed up on that. there's too much knowledge to be gained over the day to worry about such things.
That's for sure. You just don't want to interrupt the flow by stopping to grab the camera and going: "Say cheese".

I'm thinking that setting up a camera out of the way somewhere with an overview of the entire work area and taking a time-lapse movie of the entire day's proceedings would be pretty neat. Say 9 hours compressed into 9 minutes or so.
agreed. but as with any time-lapse setup, your obligated to do one version with the Benny Hill theme song playing in the background.
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SlowLane
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Re: Colin visits SF East Bay (Livermore)

Post by SlowLane » Wed Jul 18, 2012 7:11 pm

chris wrote:do one version with the Benny Hill theme song playing in the background.
Mmmph!! Just had beer come out my nose. :geek:

Man, that's a rather ... heady sensation. :drunken:
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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Sylvester
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Re: Colin visits SF East Bay (Livermore)

Post by Sylvester » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:52 am

SlowLane wrote:I'm thinking that setting up a camera out of the way somewhere with an overview of the entire work area and taking a time-lapse movie of the entire day's proceedings would be pretty neat. Say 9 hours compressed into 9 minutes or so.
I once set up a video camera and did a half hour footage of us working on my rear brakes, and gave Colin a copy.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue, I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace. Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod, The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Colin visits SF East Bay (Livermore)

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:58 am

Youse people . . .

Had an excellent day with SlowLane, who has outfitted his Vanagon with an aircraft-worthy engine monitoring system displayed all over the dashboard. His is an active mind that misses damn close to nothing, which is exactly what I need as mine unravels like a wool sweater.
That Vanagon was as sweet a drive as any I have driven. The engine was smooth and discrete up and through 4,000 rpm, the front suspension was ridiculously and unexpectedly tight and precise (you don't happen across this with circa 1981 Vanagons any more), and if the interior were not so occupied with carrying things, I was sorely tempted to fling it loose in a parking lot.

Image

I never did find a decent a campsite, but I will reiterate that I have never, in nine years of this Itinerary, ever spent a night in a campground, no fees, no tiki lights, no generators, no TVs blasting from RVs, no little yippy dogs, no showers, no.

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I came in to Livermore on Patterson Pass Road (had a lovely chat with the local police near a defensive vineyard), and had been thwarted from some Diablo something the day before because it was a private community. What was interesting about that was the nine miles I wasted to get to the gate that rejected my passage. That nine miles had smashed guardrails galore and innumerable long arcs of tire tracks leading off the road, wtf? Then it hit me, of course. The privileged exclusive community had created progeny that was bored and reckless, look! here comes a BMW 3 Series right now, veering into my lane . . .
Colin

(Kubelwagen's reference over-gas-tank-shifter bushing shot)

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BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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SlowLane
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Re: Colin visits SF East Bay (Livermore)

Post by SlowLane » Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:40 pm

Amskeptic wrote: has outfitted his Vanagon with an aircraft-worthy engine monitoring system displayed all over the dashboard.
Ah, well, it is a bit messy, somethng no aircraft pilot would put up with. I would dearly love to replace it all with an MGL Avionics Xtreme EMS to consolidate all the functions. Should fit nicely in the stock pod where the tach/clock resides.
Amskeptic wrote:and if the interior were not so occupied with carrying things, I was sorely tempted to fling it loose in a parking lot.
Heck, we could have cleaned out the detritus in the back for a bit of spirited flinging.
Amskeptic wrote:I came in to Livermore on Patterson Pass Road (had a lovely chat with the local police near a defensive vineyard
It's quite possible that you may have parked Chloe somewhere that had an excellent overview of Sandia National Lab. They can be rather protective around here. Just be grateful that there wasn't a DeLorean parked nearby and that you don't appear to be Libyan.
Amskeptic wrote: had been thwarted from some Diablo something the day before because it was a private community.
That would have been Diablo Grande Golf and Country Club, quite a ways south of here. Yes, strange place.
Which means that you must have snuck up on Livermore from the south via Del Puerto Canyon and Mines Road. Neat country up there.

Point of interest: had you turned left at the junction and taken the road to San Jose, you would have gone over the peak of Mt. Hamilton and past the Lick Observatory there. The Lick is well worth a visit. They have a 36" refractor which is an absolutely beautiful example of Victorian-age engineering, as is the dome which encloses it.
Amskeptic wrote: look! here comes a BMW 3 Series right now, veering into my lane . . .
Ya really should stop posting while driving... :geek:

The twisty roads around here do attract the racer wannabes. Evolution in action, I suppose, although risk-takers of that caliber have likely already procreated, so they're not really Darwin Award candidates.

Thoroughy enjoyed your visit. Happy trails,
Lyle
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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SlowLane
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Re: Colin visits SF East Bay (Livermore)

Post by SlowLane » Fri Jul 27, 2012 10:35 am

airkooledchris wrote:Thanks for sharing your day slowlane. There haven't been many users of late writing up their experiences and those are always some of my favorite things to read about here.
Okay, Chris, your turn to report.
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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