I write this from a hotel in NorCal, with a Toyota 4runner sitting outside. This was not my intended situation for my bay area visit.
My original truck problem (hesitation followed by black smoke) was a suspected EGR problem (common on the 6.0s). After replacement of basically the entire EGR system, the problem continued to persist, now with a check engine light for a faulty Ignition Control Pressure sensor. After that was replaced, the problem.. still continued to persist. ($3500 worth of work, though most of it covered under the powertrain warranty.. thank god)
As I had already overstayed my welcome in Malibu (30 day max), I had to put the Airstream into storage and rent a car to get me and Mr. Magic up to NorCal. The truck is in the parking garage at work, as I figured it was pointless to take it back to the same dealer, and I had to get on the road. I’ll be back down there in a week, to start the fight again.
This is an interesting situation — I’ve never been so dependent on my vehicle. If things broke in the past, there was always a car to borrow, and timeframes never really mattered. It always worked out, because there were no deadlines. The whole 30-day-max-stay in Malibu makes things a little touchy here. (Also, Malibu went to their summer rates, which is going to make this a very expensive month..) Anyway, we’ll see how things go next week. New mechanic.
It’s days like this that I wish I had the old bulletproof 7.3L diesel. Or a Toyota. (Ok, maybe not a toyota, as they only have short beds on their big trucks. And no diesels.)
Travel Hell
I am now immortal. I spent an hour today with the legend, Bob Barker.
Bob is on a tour for his book, “Priceless Memories. He stopped by the office and spoke a bit about the book, and answered a ton of questions. Bob got me through a lot of sick days in my childhood, and it was surreal to actually see him in person.
I was a bit nervous to see him, actually – toward the end of his run on The Price is Right, he seemed to be getting a little frail and not quite as mentally sharp as he was, but he was completely on top of his game. He was definitely looking like an old guy, but otherwise, his voice and mind and everything else were the Bob Barker that we all know and love. He owned the room, and was really hilarious — friendly, accommodating, and a great storyteller.
While the talk was recorded (and I’ll post the link when it’s all edited and published), a few highlights:
- He recounted the story about how he got his first big break, being discovered by someone who happened to be tuning randomly and offered him a chance to be on TV. The moral of the story was basically, be the best that you can be at all times, because you never know who’s going to be paying attention that day.
- He talked about the famous Samoan women on TPIR always wanting to pick him up and throwing him all over the place
- He admitted that he was computer illiterate, hoped to die that way, and hilariously talked about how we were all “blogging” on our “web sites” and he had no idea what any of that meant
- He said his epitaph would definitely NOT say “Come on down!” — this was the funniest thing I’ve heard all month. We were practically rolling on the floor.
It was great stuff. I forgot my camera, so here are couple of phone pictures.
At the end of the hour, Bob signed off with his signature “Help control the pet population – have your pets spayed or neutered.” And all was right in the world.
Randomness
I picked up the Ducati from a much-needed service this afternoon. It’s running better than it has in many years — credit to Stefan at Moto Club for getting it back in shape.
The messed up handling was a combination of a steering head bearing (replaced about a year ago) and a bad front tire (replaced today) — so much for the great Avon Azaro experiment. Never again. I have a Bridgestone BT016 there now, which makes the bike feel 75 pounds lighter. There’s a bit more vibration and road noise than with the Avons, but overall the bike is way better. Though, I think next time around I’ll probably head back to Michelin land — those original Pilot Sports (now Pilot Powers) were still the best tire that thing has ever had.
Stefan also fixed a number of things I didn’t even realize were wrong — coolant mix was too rich (not enough water), clutch cable needed tensioning, clutch and brake fluids needed changing, etc. Bike is running like a dream. Honestly, I was beginning to sour on the gal, but now things are good as new. Good thing, too, as the truck is still broken..
SoCal
I decided that the Airstream experience would only be complete with a musical instrument. While I played drums in my youth (head snare in concert band, baby..), I was never very musical otherwise. I dabbled with a few instruments here and there, but never really got into them, and never really had enough interest to bother with private lessons.
Lately I thought, if I’m sitting outside of the Airstream, in the sand, or in the desert, what instrument is appropriate? There were really only three choices: Acoustic guitar, harmonica, and jaw harp (like from Crocodile Dundee). I figured acoustic guitar was a bit of a commitment (and takes up a lot of space in my small quarters), so I bought a harmonica – a Lee Oskar Major Diatonic in the key of C. 
The great thing is, there are a bunch of really easy to understand harmonica lessons online. YouTube is full of free ones, but the best by far appear to be by Adam Gussow of Satan & Adam. He has about 150 free lessons on youtube (search for “gussow”), and a bunch of pay ones on modernbluesharmonica.com. The pay ones seem to be the best, and are really reasonably priced — a starter set of about 5 lessons cost $23, and is probably enough to last at least a month of playing.
The hardest part of getting started on harmonica is being able to play single notes. This took several days to be able to do at all, to be able to do it reliably takes a lot of refinement in the technique. Moving from one single note to another is even more difficult, as it has as much to do with understanding how far you need to move left or right as it does mouth shape.
Anyway, I assume that like every other instrument I’ve picked up, I’ll end up giving up after a short time, but who knows. It’s fun for now, and a harmonica is only 30 bucks. 
Randomness
As my truck continues to be broken, Magic has been spending lots of time alone in the ol’ rig. This makes him antsy. Then we run. Then he sleeps.
Just another day in paradise, as the guitar player down the road just said..
Dog
The end of my month in LA is fast approaching. While I’ll miss my friends, good eats, ridiculous cars, brunch at the Polo Lounge, staring out over the pacific, bikinis on the beach during my daily commute, a quiet office, and amazing weather, I will not miss 45 minute drives to .. well, anywhere. Malibu is far from everything, and traffic certainly doesn’t help.
LA has also been bad luck for my vehicles. The Ducati wouldn’t start and needed a battery charge, and then ended up having brake problems (goes into the shop tomorrow). The truck started hesitating and blowing black smoke, and $650 later, it’s still broken. I’m tearing the Banks programmer out tomorrow bright and early in hopes of a fix before I take it back to the shop.
My next stint will be back up to the Bay Area for awhile, and after that, who knows? Malibu’s rates are completely jacked for the summer (~2300/mo!!), and I have various other exploring to do — my only real deadline is mid-July when I head overseas for a bit.
I haven’t really done a lot of photography in LA, I guess because most of it is old news, as I’ve spent a ton of time here. Will try to make up for that over the next week..
Randomness
Saturday afternoon was the start of the 2009 Gumball rally, from Santa Monica to Miami. Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time.
SoCal
