Shop Talk - March 2010

Car Talk continued from February…

As I was discussing in last month’s column concerning changing our priorities on the use of fossil fuel, there are many, many things both the individual and the government can do to reduce our dependence on oil and clean up the environment at the same time. As an individual, we need to assess our personal carbon footprint and see where reduction can be accomplished starting with the easiest to do.
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Shop Talk - February 2010

There is so much happening in the world today that I had a difficult time coming up with something to write about this month that was relevant to the title of this column.

Obviously the events in Haiti seem to overpower many other thoughts. However, being the person I am (as green as possible) I thought a little discussion about the future of transportation and energy might be in order. Read more

Shop Talk - January 2010

It’s a New Year!! I’m going to suggest that we all give a little consideration to maintenance on our vehicles. Commonly called PM, (preventative maintenance) is the practice of performing scheduled services on a vehicle at regular intervals so that the vehicle lasts not only till the warranty runs out, but often times 2 or 3 times longer.
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Shop Talk - December 2009

This month’s article was inspired by Oscar Myre IV at the Bugler’s 10th anniversary birthday bash last week. But before I get into that, I wanted to say if you weren’t there, you missed a fine party; lots of good food provided by Hattie’s restaurant of Castle Rock and Judy’s Restaurant of Longview. In addition, great music by the “Left Coast Jazz Ensemble” and a real plus – Michelle Myre singing a couple great tunes! I’m looking forward to the next 10 year birthday bash.
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Shop Talk - November 2009

I thought a different theme would be appropriate this month based on a couple weeks spent on the big island of Hawaii.

Even though we enjoy a rather tranquil lifestyle here in the Northwest, we still have the same problems I saw over there; that is, inconsiderate drivers that cause elevated blood pressure and certainly the cause of numerous accidents that could be so easily avoided. Read more

Shop Talk - October 2009

I thought a good subject to write about is the coming winter weather and some things you should be aware of and perhaps give a little attention to before the snow flies. I know this isn’t the sort of thing you normally think about, what with the sunny days and all, but before you know it, the rain and sleet and hail and snow are sure to show up.
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Understanding driveability diagnostics

The purpose of this newsletter is to educate the reader to the problems of diagnosing drive-ability problems with computer controlled vehicles. Read more

Shop Talk - August 2009

I thought this month I would tell a story about a tractor problem my brother in law was having. Seems he drove the “new to him” tractor to his neighbor’s house, who was having clutch problems and needed help with splitting the machine to access the clutch. It was only a quarter mile and on the way back it started whining. Not being familiar with tractors at all, as this was the first farm tractor he had ever owned, he drove real slow on the way back and called me because of my mechanical background. Read more

Shop Talk - July 2009

A little change of pace this month, just because the weather is getting “summery” and my mind starts thinking of all the neat car stuff one can do this time of year. I assume that the reader is a “car type”, what ever that means, and so this is written for that person. With summer comes vacations and without going very far, you can see multiple car shows and cruise-ins any weekend of the season.
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Shop Talk - June 2009

It’s that time of the year again where we need to be thinking about summer travel and all that entails.

With the economy in the dumps, I thought I would write about some travel opportunities that are closer to home and still meet your needs for a good get-a-way. Read more

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