So yesterday I had police officer stop by to check up in a compliant that my neighbor made.
My neighbor claimed that I hade welded on a home made hitch onto my car, and that my “little” car shouldn’t be towing a boat. They also claimed they saw me welding on my car, and that the hitch had broken several times….
The cop took one look at my car, and brushed it off. I told him it was a bolt on Curt brand hitch and I had it professionally installed at a local place. I also told him my car is rated to tow 1700lbs, and that hitch is rated for 2,500 much more that the 1400lbs my boat, and trailer weights.

The thing that really gets me is that an e90 3 series is not a little car. It’s a 3800lb, 15ft long, AWD sedan, with a 3.0l inline 6. Any car that size should be able to safely tow a 14ft boat. But lots people think you need a pickup to tow anything.
As for me “welding” on my car I did have it hooked up to a battery charger the other day. I was fixing the lights on my trailer, and had the car’s lights on without it running for a bit too long. Maybe that thought it was a welder? The thing is, even if I had DIY welded some square tubing to my car and built my own hitch, that isn’t illegal! At least not in Wisconsin.

Divorce sucks. hug you're spouse if you have one, and thank them for they're patience.
also this.

Feeling pretty relieved right now. I got an apartment here in NC. It’s 5 miles from my work, and a 10 minute drive to the beach and a biking trail.
Finding temporary, or permanent housing was the second BIG to do on my list before my son, and cat get here at the end of the month.
I even almost bought a trashed 50 year old trailer just to have something, and I’m glad I didn’t pull that trigger.
This apartment mean I can keep looking for a house to buy with absolutely no rush. Because home buying is NOT something you wants to be in a rush to do.
This place is recently remodeled and 2-3 hundred buck less than most apartments around here too. And there’s a grocery store a few blocks away. I LOVE being able to run a few errands without getting in a car.
I don’t plan on this being a long term situation. I’d like to buy a house in the next 18 months, but having a place to, and not having to give up my car, and have my kid couch surfing at relatives indefinitely makes me fee a lot better.

So my son is 12 going on 13, he learned to ride a dirt bike this spring. And he likes cars like me, well maybe not in the obsessive way i was at his age.
Any way tonight we were driving home from hanging out with family, and I decided to see if I could get him into the driver's seat of the e90.
I took him over to the high school parking lot, a big empty area. And told him I wanted to give him a driving lesson. I spent about 15 minutes going back and forth along the lot showing how get the car going with out using the gas. Just letting the clutch out slowly, feeling it engage, and slipping the clutch until you have enough momentum to let it out all the way. I kept to dome light on, and put my phone down in the footwell with the flashlight on so he could watch my feet.
Then I told him about the first time I drove a car, how I was TERRIFIED, just like he was. but my brother took me to a parking lot, put me in the driver's seat and let me drive. and it was awesome.
He was clearly scared, and told me he didn't want to do it. But he is a very scared kid, he will shut down and tighten up physically when he's scared. It's taken me a while, but I've learned how to help ease him out of that. Eventually he did switch seats. We got the seat position set up for him, he's 5'4" now geeze. I let him know I'd take control if he got scared, that I had the shifter, so I could take it out of gear, I have the parking brake so I can stop it, and I can steer for him If I need to.
That did help him relax a lot. Then I had him put his hands on the wheel, and look forward. he put his foot on the clutch, and I put it in 1st for him.
then he stalled. And I smiled. I'm my mind I was like "HE DID IT" just the fact that he could get over that fear wall and try was HUGE progress.
I told him that he was doing great, stalling was just part of learning.
So he started the car, and tried again. this time he got it going for a few feet, and stalled. Again I told him "you're doing great!" then he started the car again, and gave it another try. this time he got going and went the last 150 feet or so just idling in 1st.
Coming to the end of the parking lot I think he got tunnel vision on a post that was dead ahead of us. so I pulled it out of 1st and pulled the parking brake so we stopped.
We talked a bit about what he learned, and I asked him if he wanted me to turn the car about so he could give it another go. he said not today and I didn't push it.
Anyway I'm once again a proud Dad. Also passing on the art of rowing one's own gears!

On my way out of Wisconsin and into North Carolina.
Wish me luck.
Things are going smooth so far, except I did burn the shit out of my left calf on the muffler of my Suzuki as we were loading it onto the truck. Yeah, it didn’t sell, because I didn’t want to sell it….

So my cat mad the trip her from Wisconsin last on the 27th. And she stayed in the apartment for a almost a week.
She’s always been an outdoor cat, and I never planned for her to stay inside. On the 3rd while I was moving stuff around the back door got left open, and she got out. No sweat. Until she didn’t show up, for several days. I got a bit worried, but has faith in her instincts. Like I said she’s always been an outdoor cat, and she also suuuuuper clingy, so I didn’t think she’d just choose to run away.
I looked up some tips to get a “lost” car home. One thing they said was to make a shelter, or even set out a live trap with some of your cloths, and your pets food in it. I did that last night, and today when I got home I checked the shelter. She wasn’t in it, but the food had been eaten. Then I heard her yelling at me. And there she was. She seems happy to be home. ![180036AB-6301-43D4-847F-ED28F0810217.jpeg(/assets/uploads/files/1660010650827-180036ab-6301-43d4-847f-ed28f0810217-resized.jpeg)

I just learned about this landmark. At what was formerly the Studebaker testing grounds there’s trees that spell out the name Studebaker. Pretty neat.
Here it is on Google Maps.
And an arial shot from back in the day.

Friday an appraiser came out an looked at my car, and assessed the damages at just under $5,200 still pretty crazy but low enough for the car to not be totaled. I just went to the body shop and it’s scheduled to go in next Monday.
In the mean time I have a brake job to do. Literally a few hours before the accident I ordered a rear brakes service kit, parking brake shoes, and oil change kit from FCP Euro.

Well I officially have a job in North Carolina. I start at Parker Honda in Morehead City tomorrow. I’m excited, and so happy that I was a albe to find a job this quickly. I left Wisconsin less than 2 weeks ago.
Now I just need to find a place to live.

I I’ve always wanted to have some old auto magazines ads on my walls. As a kid I just took them out of mags myself and pinned them up with no frame. But now I’m an Adult. So I wanted one framed. I’m going with a red them for a lot of the decorations in my house. So when I found an Ad with one of my favorite cars ever in red I had to have it.
And another piece of red wall art in my home. This one came out of a thrift store a long time ago.

@facw you can move the engine down in the advanced settings.
might have the exhaust clipping through the ground in Beam tho depends on how far you need to move it

@Taylor-Martin Here's one I worked on today. Couldn't get the specs to compare to my front runner with this body.

@Qaaaaa In this weeks She-Hulk she throws an orange LC500.
I still winced, knowing full well it was all CGI

@HoustonRunner Wow yeah that spoiler is awful. It takes away from the little duck tail already shaped into the trunk.

@FourMalibus it is cool to be able to see the movement from the front. Tends to make it harder to tell the time tho. At least when designers get carried away with it.

@Mr-Ontop last time they were available they were about 620 USD.
They also have a great diver for the same price.

@Sam-Blockhan I’d gladly own any of these. The I like the Niro the least but it does look cool. They are plug in hybrids right?

I’ve been wanting a Baltic MR01 since I first saw it in blue. For a long time it hasn’t even been available to order. Well for 10 days about a week from now they’ll be taking orders again.
The asymmetric seconds sub dial. The texture of the dial, the raised numbers, the minute chapter ring. I just love the design of this watch.

@pyroholtz that’s one that bugs me. If you “could care less.”, that means you do care, at least a little bit.

@ST80MND suspension stems are back, on gravel bikes.

@WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4 It seems like it just a bike that will be banana shaped half the time