bertbehrens.com

Apparently the wife has been entering racing events and forgot to switch back to street tires. Another possibility is that she wore all the tread off the tires but I think it was the racing. So 400 later we have new shoes for the Jetta and she should be able to keep it between the ditches this winter.

Just a test here to see if things work the way they should, I had some issues with longer posts in the previous version and hope that this one fixed that bug, or feature if you don\’t like longer posts I suppose.\n\nLine break testing.\n\nLine break test 2.\n\nPicture test….\n\nLet\’s see if it worked

My daughter gave me a present the other day, the H1N1 virus. It was great and behaved like a really bad cold with a little time spent hugging the toilet but I am feeling decent again and am back to work. Woo hoo!

Awesomeness on the Tour. Its kinda cool and does its thing rather quickly which is awesome.

Every car I have owned has had its quirks, but my Magnum\’s requirement of a $130 wiring harness and a $150 dash piece just to install a radio is outrageous. Since I don\’t have navigation my radio opening is just slightly smaller than the required double DIN, and Since Chrysler decided to use CANBUS and external amps I need the harness. Dumb.

Today has been a busy day, I have helped cook and serve 400 orders of steak tips. Man they are tasty.\n\nAnd damn did they sell fast today.

A little handholding and a few filechanges from my blackberry got him on the road to blogging. Yay.\n\nAlso, meatloaf is awesome.

It might just be that I am too wordy in my mobile posts and the BlackBerry app just loses interest. I will keep playing with it till I figure it out. More updates to come.\n\nFeel free to let me know how dumb I am for not being able to figure this out on my own.

I guess that\’s why it\’s a Beta still. My recent posts haven\’t worked like they should and I think that it may be the fault of Tags. The posts I have added without Tags worked perfectly but tagging apparently made the software mad or something. I will fix.

Lately I have been obsessed. The curves, the chrome, the interiors, the blatant disregard for aerodynamics and ergonomics have taken me completely. I have been scouring the interwebs for oldness in the form of a VW Type 3 Squareback, or Variant as it was officially known. \\\\\\\\nToday\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s cars are shaped be computers to achieve maximum fuel efficiency and safety but end up looking like jelly beans. Back in the day they just drew it out and built what looked good. The quirky good looks of the Squareback has re ignited my flame for old school. Its lines are no beautiful, but honest and simple. Its engine is small enough to fit in your pocket and can be rebuilt on the coffee table if your wife is understanding enough and completely blind. And it is a great canvas to express your personality.\\\\\\\\nBut the best thing about old cars like this are the communities that spring up to honor and love them. The VW community is massive as far as collector car groups go, but it has to be when you are dealing with one of the best selling cars of all time. Just like most classic car groups it is supporting and friendly to most, but unlike some the VW community encourages people to be creative rather than slavish to the restoration or billetification of these old rides. Check thesamba.com and browse through the library of pictures and you will see rat rods, immaculate restorations, wild customs, low riders, drag cars, rally cars, and more all from a line of only 5 major body styles. First of course is the Beetle, then the Bus, and then the attempt at a mainstream look in the 3 Type 3\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s known as the Fastback, Notchback, and Squareback.\\\\\\\\nI encourage anyone reading this to take a look back and see if you can find that spark that\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s been hiding inside you to get back to a simpler automotive landscape of tail fins and chrome, of wood paneling and pin striping, of patina and primer, of the smell of carbureted engines and the sound of cherry bombs.