Hank Watson's Garage Hour podcast

It's cold out and we're in - the gearhead goons have got gripes, and you're in the front row: the risk of snow on your roof (Don't be a Carl), the risk of snow on your walks (because shovel already), the risk of salt on your driveway (Bye bye, plants and pavement), the risk of freezing in your garage (H20 in everything), and a little bit of detail on those electric snowblowers.  There's also a look at the Major Screwup (Sir!) by Costcos in Colorado, which just put diesel fuel in their gas tanks, Jeep following Ford's footsteps and ending production of the electric Wrangler, and Redhead Frankenstein's advice to remembering to laugh (and not bring a cougar to a party).  Also, a reminder to take care of the folks who take care of you, because you never know when they'll not be there: an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Dale the Parts Guy from Larry Miller (ne Corwin) Toyota. More: Awesome Ann and her snow shovel (because neighbor!), Jeff Bagby and his kegs, plus Dick Dale, The Professors, Man or Astro-Man and Rob Zombie's Halloween Hootenanny.

It's cold out and we're in - the gearhead goons have got gripes, and you're in the front row: the risk of snow on your roof (Don't be a Carl), the risk of snow on your walks (because shovel already), the risk of salt on your driveway (Bye bye, plants and pavement), the risk of freezing in your garage (H20 in everything), and a little bit of detail on those electric snowblowers.  There's also a look at the Major Screwup (Sir!) by Costcos in Colorado, which just put diesel fuel in their gas tanks, Jeep following Ford's footsteps and ending production of the electric Wrangler, and Redhead Frankenstein's advice to remembering to laugh (and not bring a cougar to a party).  Also, a reminder to take care of the folks who take care of you, because you never know when they'll not be there: an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Dale the Parts Guy from Larry Miller (ne Corwin) Toyota. More: Awesome Ann and her snow shovel (because neighbor!), Jeff Bagby and his kegs, plus Dick Dale, The Professors, Man or Astro-Man and Rob Zombie's Halloween Hootenanny.

Gearheads do things and make stuff because they're doers at heart.  Just add tools and bolts and wires and parts (it's all ball bearings anyway) and fixing happens, no matter where we're pointed.  Make your house happy and point yourself at some walls and ceilings for an hour - it's more fun with wiring.  What's more: multimeters, wire nuts, 10-minute crashing guitar murder, dikes and strippers, and blaming hippies.  For fun: massive blackouts in first-world countries show they can't even subsist at third-world levels, laws to protect 'froaders, campers, bikers and hikers from wolves, and a little ditty about making your kids gun-safe instead of making your house crime-friendly. More in there (because space metal): Masters of Reality, Failure, Monster Magnet, Farflung, Kyuss, Snail, Man or Astro Man, Orange Goblin, Clutch, The Sword, Soundgarden, the wonderful McRib, and a peachy wheat sip (and some tales) from Breckenridge Brewery.

Gearheads do things and make stuff because they're doers at heart.  Just add tools and bolts and wires and parts (it's all ball bearings anyway) and fixing happens, no matter where we're pointed.  Make your house happy and point yourself at some walls and ceilings for an hour - it's more fun with wiring.  What's more: multimeters, wire nuts, 10-minute crashing guitar murder, dikes and strippers, and blaming hippies.  For fun: massive blackouts in first-world countries show they can't even subsist at third-world levels, laws to protect 'froaders, campers, bikers and hikers from wolves, and a little ditty about making your kids gun-safe instead of making your house crime-friendly. More in there (because space metal): Masters of Reality, Failure, Monster Magnet, Farflung, Kyuss, Snail, Man or Astro Man, Orange Goblin, Clutch, The Sword, Soundgarden, the wonderful McRib, and a peachy wheat sip (and some tales) from Breckenridge Brewery.

So much show, show little time.  ...Still uploading episodes from 2025 - this one was close at hand.  It starts with a look at distilleries like Jim Beam and others which are having a hard time coping with market movement, and how it's an analog to brewery behavior in years past (including outfits now and gone like Manzanita, Butcher's, Ballast Point, Breckenridge and more), and then overrules it all with the potential alien invasion loaded up on an "asteroid" named 3I/Atlas (perhaps they like beer).  Curveballs continue with extra arms and prehensile tails, and then there's the tale of a mechanic from Normal, America, who has been pardoned for helping diesel truck owners avoid destructive government policies and parts.  Because racecar, the gearhead goons also noticed that the world famous Targa Tasmania was running - right now - and that's good news for drivers who like honest tarmac action and the go-fast community. Don't worry, we got lost too: Kalifornistan continues to make life hard for its citizens by driving refineries out of the state; and don't throw the baby out with the bath water: a good idea like storing cheap electricity in batteries shouldn't be ruined by a few bad batteries that got hung on a wall (and then caught fire).

So much show, show little time.  ...Still uploading episodes from 2025 - this one was close at hand.  It starts with a look at distilleries like Jim Beam and others which are having a hard time coping with market movement, and how it's an analog to brewery behavior in years past (including outfits now and gone like Manzanita, Butcher's, Ballast Point, Breckenridge and more), and then overrules it all with the potential alien invasion loaded up on an "asteroid" named 3I/Atlas (perhaps they like beer).  Curveballs continue with extra arms and prehensile tails, and then there's the tale of a mechanic from Normal, America, who has been pardoned for helping diesel truck owners avoid destructive government policies and parts.  Because racecar, the gearhead goons also noticed that the world famous Targa Tasmania was running - right now - and that's good news for drivers who like honest tarmac action and the go-fast community. Don't worry, we got lost too: Kalifornistan continues to make life hard for its citizens by driving refineries out of the state; and don't throw the baby out with the bath water: a good idea like storing cheap electricity in batteries shouldn't be ruined by a few bad batteries that got hung on a wall (and then caught fire).

Why not finish the year with a geek-strength pile-on: we've got everything from robot cars freezing up in blackouts to electric Jeeps blowing up in garages, rich fat girls getting high and running over the NYPD, the importance of being prepared for your adventure (whether at sea in your sweet fishing boat or on-trail in your busted up rock rig), and electric school busses that can't keep kids warm (let alone work on hills, in the cold, with a load, or in any municipality's budget).  There's also a maddening report on the ongoing inability of bureaucrats to make the Dem's watermelon nightmare of electric everything actually work (stupid physics always getting in the way).  More: another way that pinko Chinese manufacturing is destroying the free world, and some analysis of the problem posed by folks who think the Second Amendment is a second-class right (or don't even have one in backsliding nations like Australia) and that bans on guns will stop the evil in a man's heart (when it just stops law-abiding citizens from defending themselves). Going for broke: a rare exception to the Good Soundtrack/Bad Movie Rule, an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Gil Gerrard (Buck Rogers his own damn self), some Morty & Rick, and music from the Chemical Bros., Prodigy, Bio-Mechanical Degeneration, Josh Wink, Naked Funk, Soul Coughing, Poker Face, Mirwais and Korn.

Why not finish the year with a geek-strength pile-on: we've got everything from robot cars freezing up in blackouts to electric Jeeps blowing up in garages, rich fat girls getting high and running over the NYPD, the importance of being prepared for your adventure (whether at sea in your sweet fishing boat or on-trail in your busted up rock rig), and electric school busses that can't keep kids warm (let alone work on hills, in the cold, with a load, or in any municipality's budget).  There's also a maddening report on the ongoing inability of bureaucrats to make the Dem's watermelon nightmare of electric everything actually work (stupid physics always getting in the way).  More: another way that pinko Chinese manufacturing is destroying the free world, and some analysis of the problem posed by folks who think the Second Amendment is a second-class right (or don't even have one in backsliding nations like Australia) and that bans on guns will stop the evil in a man's heart (when it just stops law-abiding citizens from defending themselves). Going for broke: a rare exception to the Good Soundtrack/Bad Movie Rule, an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Gil Gerrard (Buck Rogers his own damn self), some Morty & Rick, and music from the Chemical Bros., Prodigy, Bio-Mechanical Degeneration, Josh Wink, Naked Funk, Soul Coughing, Poker Face, Mirwais and Korn.

Everything Christmas from Where the Gearheads Are (with a little Judiasm and Islam thrown in), we've got a fun Xmas Day analysis of what's up in OUR world.  Why is it important to focus on being the giver?  How can you put all the phones away - if but for a day?  How do you overcome the challenge of shopping for a geek (shooters, gamers, gardeners, stereophiles and makers worldwide need apply)?  Why is "Sleigh Ride" the best Christmas song (even if it's 70º and sunny)?  Can a Xmas turkey (chili) satisfy all comers?  Is untraditional (or is it non?) Xmas music suitable for old peopled?  Why are old school, classical decorations always better?  ...Same for presents - how are over-the-shoulder throwback gifts always going to hit better than shiny new stuff?  There's also family movies, lost-and-found Xmas tunes, essential fireplaces, the Yule log, helping out the oldsters with their decorations (the effort matters), and lighting for a barbed-wire wreath. More/merrier: Christmas music from Brian Setzer, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Burl Ives, Boston Pops, Sepultura, Mannheim Steamroller, Louie Armstrong, Holst, Louie Primo, Guns 'N Roses, Steve Bennett, Dean Martin, with a little bit of James Bond on top.

Everything Christmas from Where the Gearheads Are (with a little Judiasm and Islam thrown in), we've got a fun Xmas Day analysis of what's up in OUR world.  Why is it important to focus on being the giver?  How can you put all the phones away - if but for a day?  How do you overcome the challenge of shopping for a geek (shooters, gamers, gardeners, stereophiles and makers worldwide need apply)?  Why is "Sleigh Ride" the best Christmas song (even if it's 70º and sunny)?  Can a Xmas turkey (chili) satisfy all comers?  Is untraditional (or is it non?) Xmas music suitable for old peopled?  Why are old school, classical decorations always better?  ...Same for presents - how are over-the-shoulder throwback gifts always going to hit better than shiny new stuff?  There's also family movies, lost-and-found Xmas tunes, essential fireplaces, the Yule log, helping out the oldsters with their decorations (the effort matters), and lighting for a barbed-wire wreath. More/merrier: Christmas music from Brian Setzer, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Burl Ives, Boston Pops, Sepultura, Mannheim Steamroller, Louie Armstrong, Holst, Louie Primo, Guns 'N Roses, Steve Bennett, Dean Martin, with a little bit of James Bond on top.

Got some gifting goodies for the gearhead in your day (a little late, we know...) - tap in while Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and The Walkin' Dude get together in BFE for a night in the garage and a list of ideas for your last minute shopping.  Most of these are pretty easy, too, so you really CAN do it today.  Everything from tools (themed upfitting, anyone?), training (welding, driving or wiring?), preparedness (ready for your next disappearing act?), lighting (but not blinding!), gifts made in the U.S.A. (easier than you think!), chemicals (is it empty?), period-correct movies (getting back to your roots...), surveillance (because The Woods!), injectors (because 4Runner...), a disco ball and a Z06. You can even help the Garage Hour out and find Justin and Dan what they want for Christmas.  Dig in: trail electronics, Rain-X, ammo, flannel, Sea-Foam, vampire clips, heat shrink, razor wire, good tape, Maglites, Jaime's articulated loader versus 12' of snow in Mammoth, vintage snowplows, Chuck Norris, the X-Files and Fortean logic. Because we promised:  Miller Lite, Charles Fort, a JF Summit #4 update, blinding Jaime (as witness in our first-ever upload-only Garage Hour), Rodney Dangerfield, Johnny Carson, the good Baldwins, Dr. Evil versus Space Chick, plus Dick Dale, Link Wray, Slayer, Pulp Fiction, Usual Suspects, and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Peter Greene.

Got some gifting goodies for the gearhead in your day (a little late, we know...) - tap in while Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and The Walkin' Dude get together in BFE for a night in the garage and a list of ideas for your last minute shopping.  Most of these are pretty easy, too, so you really CAN do it today.  Everything from tools (themed upfitting, anyone?), training (welding, driving or wiring?), preparedness (ready for your next disappearing act?), lighting (but not blinding!), gifts made in the U.S.A. (easier than you think!), chemicals (is it empty?), period-correct movies (getting back to your roots...), surveillance (because The Woods!), injectors (because 4Runner...), a disco ball and a Z06. You can even help the Garage Hour out and find Justin and Dan what they want for Christmas.  Dig in: trail electronics, Rain-X, ammo, flannel, Sea-Foam, vampire clips, heat shrink, razor wire, good tape, Maglites, Jaime's articulated loader versus 12' of snow in Mammoth, vintage snowplows, Chuck Norris, the X-Files and Fortean logic. Because we promised:  Miller Lite, Charles Fort, a JF Summit #4 update, blinding Jaime (as witness in our first-ever upload-only Garage Hour), Rodney Dangerfield, Johnny Carson, the good Baldwins, Dr. Evil versus Space Chick, plus Dick Dale, Link Wray, Slayer, Pulp Fiction, Usual Suspects, and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Peter Greene.

Wellllll...   Don't blame we - holidays came quick this year and nothing's getting done beyond Christmas trees and gifts for Mom.  There's a high-q Garage Hour for you right here, though (found time between wrapping and trimming), with a sleigh load of gearhead goodness.  Subaru's trying to extra-distract you while driving by piping ads through the silly screen in the dash, Jaguar's trying to save itself from the 95% fail of their woketarded rainbow-sprocket rebrand by firing the guy who green-lighted it, the Trump administration is trying to save Americans from terrible and unsafe cars by loosening C.A.F.E. standards, the U.S.P.S. is finally bailing on its electric-breadbox delivery van experiment, and technology is still trying to kill us with spy glasses and artificial stupidity.  Also, we've got good cats versus bad kitties, the S.D.P.D. versus the C.H.P., and Thanksgiving versus your plumber. We've got the rock, too - not just more surf guitar and So-Cal tunes, but Fun Lovin' Criminals, Hum, Five-Horse Johnson, Fishbone, Alice In Chains and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Booker "T" & the MGs guitarman and American rock guitar genius Steve Cropper.

Wellllll...   Don't blame we - holidays came quick this year and nothing's getting done beyond Christmas trees and gifts for Mom.  There's a high-q Garage Hour for you right here, though (found time between wrapping and trimming), with a sleigh load of gearhead goodness.  Subaru's trying to extra-distract you while driving by piping ads through the silly screen in the dash, Jaguar's trying to save itself from the 95% fail of their woketarded rainbow-sprocket rebrand by firing the guy who green-lighted it, the Trump administration is trying to save Americans from terrible and unsafe cars by loosening C.A.F.E. standards, the U.S.P.S. is finally bailing on its electric-breadbox delivery van experiment, and technology is still trying to kill us with spy glasses and artificial stupidity.  Also, we've got good cats versus bad kitties, the S.D.P.D. versus the C.H.P., and Thanksgiving versus your plumber. We've got the rock, too - not just more surf guitar and So-Cal tunes, but Fun Lovin' Criminals, Hum, Five-Horse Johnson, Fishbone, Alice In Chains and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Booker "T" & the MGs guitarman and American rock guitar genius Steve Cropper.

Some shows are just a pile of shiny stuff passing over the electrodes in the hosts' brains, and this one's some of that: a rant about how much damage your pressure washer is causing (your cars and your homes), the things living in the woods and what you're doing to be prepared for them (bears in Japan, more bears in Europe, wolves in Colorado, and rioters in your front yard), Vanagons, Synchros, Dude Food, the lethal levels of fail in statist electric car manufacturing and ownership (and the lethal levels of stupid in their owners' brains), and some pretty-far-into-the-Dead-Guy-ales history of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald (notwithstanding his confusion of Lake Michigan with Lake Superior...). On top of all that goodness, there's a fine assortment of surf guitar from the Los Straitjackets and the Torquays (though we forgot the Professors and Dick Dale).

Some shows are just a pile of shiny stuff passing over the electrodes in the hosts' brains, and this one's some of that: a rant about how much damage your pressure washer is causing (your cars and your homes), the things living in the woods and what you're doing to be prepared for them (bears in Japan, more bears in Europe, wolves in Colorado, and rioters in your front yard), Vanagons, Synchros, Dude Food, the lethal levels of fail in statist electric car manufacturing and ownership (and the lethal levels of stupid in their owners' brains), and some pretty-far-into-the-Dead-Guy-ales history of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald (notwithstanding his confusion of Lake Michigan with Lake Superior...). On top of all that goodness, there's a fine assortment of surf guitar from the Los Straitjackets and the Torquays (though we forgot the Professors and Dick Dale).

How about a high-Q blowout from Other Ryan's garage, where the ongoing parade of attempts to get a junkyard manifold to align with a junkyard 5.9 (hey, $400 with a set of equal-lengths can't be all bad) turns into a great piece of show.  From tales of how the usually dependable 5.9 lump could go from power to just POW, Freiburger's motorhomes and Péwé's Jeeps, professional drivers and drifters, and tanks buried all over Europe, to Nayr Zedlav and Nutsij Trof's thoughts on getting the dissimilar surfaces in an engine to mate up...  You'll probably learn something - sorry about that. In addition, there's the return of Pizza Port's coincidental Chronic Amber, some weird rock from "The Shining", frosty mugs, Hugh Mearns, Edgar Allen Poe and Ed Gorey.

How about a high-Q blowout from Other Ryan's garage, where the ongoing parade of attempts to get a junkyard manifold to align with a junkyard 5.9 (hey, $400 with a set of equal-lengths can't be all bad) turns into a great piece of show.  From tales of how the usually dependable 5.9 lump could go from power to just POW, Freiburger's motorhomes and Péwé's Jeeps, professional drivers and drifters, and tanks buried all over Europe, to Nayr Zedlav and Nutsij Trof's thoughts on getting the dissimilar surfaces in an engine to mate up..  You'll probably learn something - sorry about that. In addition, there's the return of Pizza Port's coincidental Chronic Amber, some weird rock from "The Shining", frosty mugs, Hugh Mearns, Edgar Allen Poe and Ed Gorey.

Between so many interruptions - the politicking and the Chinese food, phone calls from friends and parts percolating in the garadtch - White Mark the Diversity Hire and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort were lucky to get through this one at all.  What's in it?  Skyrocketing values of old 911s and the cost of our buddy the Doc's new pistachio GT2; strange new clunks in the new Grenader; comfortable old clunks in a 300K 4Runner.  Then it's all about the sauce: the Real Dill's Bloody Mary mix, Pizza Port's Chronic Amber Ale, Stone Brewing in Pt. Loma, and the return of Gilark Bourbon with batch #6 (vanilla and maple and oh so smooth) Then it's the fun outside interestingness that makes the Garage Hour more than human: Mark's pal Adam Duce of MachineHead, Justin's pal Jaimz of Off-Road.com, Dennis Combs (the Luckiest Man in the World) and tales of brine shrimp and junk bonds, plus Sen. McCarran versus Harry Reid, warthog moats, JF Summit 4, Fatso Jetson and the Truckfighters.

Between so many interruptions - the politicking and the Chinese food, phone calls from friends and parts percolating in the garadtch - White Mark the Diversity Hire and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort were lucky to get through this one at all.  What's in it?  Skyrocketing values of old 911s and the cost of our buddy the Doc's new pistachio GT2; strange new clunks in the new Grenader; comfortable old clunks in a 300K 4Runner.  Then it's all about the sauce: the Real Dill's Bloody Mary mix, Pizza Port's Chronic Amber Ale, Stone Brewing in Pt. Loma, and the return of Gilark Bourbon with batch #6 (vanilla and maple and oh so smooth) Then it's the fun outside interestingness that makes the Garage Hour more than human: Mark's pal Adam Duce of MachineHead, Justin's pal Jaimz of Off-Road.com, Dennis Combs (the Luckiest Man in the World) and tales of brine shrimp and junk bonds, plus Sen. McCarran versus Harry Reid, warthog moats, JF Summit 4, Fatso Jetson and the Truckfighters.

Some marginal catching up going on here; more episodes in the queue...  What's in it?  Car fads like the BMW 3-Series, Audi 5000 and SAAB 900s versus electric cars, and how the electric car fad is coming to grief over its feasibility issues (couldn't help ourselves); a microcosm of plug-in car failures in the Volkswagen Buzz (and why no one's buying the hype because it doesn't match the myth - or reality - of the original VW Bus).  There's curvy road fun (and failure) with Colorado's fabulous, famous and frightening 550 - a nice job by Zebulon Pike - and why you shouldn't try to mess with your phone when a right turn starts with a 300ft curb.  We also take a somber moment to discuss being safe with your ATV because it's easy to get yourself killed on a quad or snowmobile, even when you've got the money of a Lending Tree CEO or the skillset of a Ken Block.  Risk takes brains and skill, and even that ain't always enough (...'Tis better to hit the deer than miss the road). There's more about Big Boy 4014's plans for a coast-to-coast run in 2026, sunken treasure from Florida's Treasure Coast, Blackbeard, Tommy Thompson and the S.S. Central America, the French pick a winner with the Guardian of Liberty, a new door kills an old finger, plus Amon Tobin rolls tracks throughout; with details on albums and soundtracks (just "Like Regular Chickens").

Some marginal catching up going on here; more episodes in the queue...  What's in it?  Car fads like the BMW 3-Series, Audi 5000 and SAAB 900s versus electric cars, and how the electric car fad is coming to grief over its feasibility issues (couldn't help ourselves); a microcosm of plug-in car failures in the Volkswagen Buzz (and why no one's buying the hype because it doesn't match the myth - or reality - of the original VW Bus).  There's curvy road fun (and failure) with Colorado's fabulous, famous and frightening 550 - a nice job by Zebulon Pike - and why you shouldn't try to mess with your phone when a right turn starts with a 300ft curb.  We also take a somber moment to discuss being safe with your ATV because it's easy to get yourself killed on a quad or snowmobile, even when you've got the money of a Lending Tree CEO or the skillset of a Ken Block.  Risk takes brains and skill, and even that ain't always enough (...'Tis better to hit the deer than miss the road). There's more about Big Boy 4014's plans for a coast-to-coast run in 2026, sunken treasure from Florida's Treasure Coast, Blackbeard, Tommy Thompson and the S.S. Central America, the French pick a winner with the Guardian of Liberty, a new door kills an old finger, plus Amon Tobin rolls tracks throughout; with details on albums and soundtracks (just "Like Regular Chickens").

Holy frijoles - mind the gap and pardon the delay.  Too many doins are afoot and we owe you a few (episodes).  Right here's another one from the pile, with a caffeine rodeo on the back of projects getting done.  Point is, figure the next step and do it - dudes do, after all, and geeks get it done.  There's tales of fine woodworking, failing lithium-ion deathpods, a decent beer 'n burn, and when it's all done, strategies for a righteous nap.  Plus that up with a Garage Hour Reload that digs back into the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan and why T.I.G.H.A.R. and Gardner Island probably still hold the key.   But wait: Kipple's back, Mt. Dew and Hostess apple pies never left, someone's messing with beer, China's messing with Burma, real eatin' with some proper Dude Food, and real messaging for fake meat (and why a veggie burger ain't as bad as one of those new fake-meat cancer patties).  Also, how about a classy sendoff for Dr. Demento?

Holy frijoles - mind the gap and pardon the delay.  Too many doins are afoot and we owe you a few (episodes).  Right here's another one from the pile, with a caffeine rodeo on the back of projects getting done.  Point is, figure the next step and do it - dudes do, after all, and geeks get it done.  There's tales of fine woodworking, failing lithium-ion deathpods, a decent beer 'n burn, and when it's all done, strategies for a righteous nap.  Plus that up with a Garage Hour Reload that digs back into the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan and why T.I.G.H.A.R. and Gardner Island probably still hold the key.   But wait: Kipple's back, Mt. Dew and Hostess apple pies never left, someone's messing with beer, China's messing with Burma, real eatin' with some proper Dude Food, and real messaging for fake meat (and why a veggie burger ain't as bad as one of those new fake-meat cancer patties).  Also, how about a classy sendoff for Dr. Demento?

...Getting to the episodes left over from this summer - so much to mix.  The Garage Hour's trying to keep you from being a Carl (TM) with everything from keeping spacers off your 4Runner to keeping you from making the cold-snap sprint (TM again...).  Add to that the lady who killed cones (which hand was on the wheel?), the reporter who ruined the story about what could actually be a problem with electric cars (duhhh), the dude who destroyed his roof rack (by not attaching it to his roof), the carmaker that stepped on its reputation by not making products that work (ahem, Toyota, you've got a reputation to maintain), and folks who just don't get how traffic works, and you've got gearhead talk radio (TM some more). While we're at it: Civic versus Jersey barrier, automakers versus connectivity, power grids versus centralization, 4Runner versus Jeep weights, and David Bowie on "Earthlings".

...Getting to the episodes left over from this summer - so much to mix.  The Garage Hour's trying to keep you from being a Carl (TM) with everything from keeping spacers off your 4Runner to keeping you from making the cold-snap sprint (TM again...).  Add to that the lady who killed cones (which hand was on the wheel?), the reporter who ruined the story about what could actually be a problem with electric cars (duhhh), the dude who destroyed his roof rack (by not attaching it to his roof), the carmaker that stepped on its reputation by not making products that work (ahem, Toyota, you've got a reputation to maintain), and folks who just don't get how traffic works, and you've got gearhead talk radio (TM some more). While we're at it: Civic versus Jersey barrier, automakers versus connectivity, power grids versus centralization, 4Runner versus Jeep weights, and David Bowie on "Earthlings".

You can't let time erase history, because without knowing where we're going we're just a spec in time.  You're just a piece of starstuff if you don't have a vector - got to know where we've been.  9/11 was one of those points in time that everyone has/knows/remembers, and without that memory (and comprehension), so much of what is afoot now (from warfighters and conflicts in the Middle East to Big Gov't miseries and threats aplenty) makes no sense.  Get a grip, people, and help those who've not come to understand what 9/11 means grasp its consequence - and the loss of it all. Join the Garage Hour in a little bit of remembrance this 9/11: thank a veteran, pat someone in law enforcement on the back (not by surprise, though), and pour one out for those who aren't with us anymore.  While we're at it, how about some Megadeth - this may be a somber day, but a little thrash metal makes everyone feel better.

You can't let time erase history, because without knowing where we're going we're just a spec in time.  You're just a piece of starstuff if you don't have a vector - got to know where we've been.  9/11 was one of those points in time that everyone has/knows/remembers, and without that memory (and comprehension), so much of what is afoot now (from warfighters and conflicts in the Middle East to Big Gov't miseries and threats aplenty) makes no sense.  Get a grip, people, and help those who've not come to understand what 9/11 means grasp its consequence - and the loss of it all. Join the Garage Hour in a little bit of remembrance this 9/11: thank a veteran, pat someone in law enforcement on the back (not by surprise, though), and pour one out for those who aren't with us anymore.  While we're at it, how about some Megadeth - this may be a somber day, but a little thrash metal makes everyone feel better.

There's some strange things afoot at the Circle K, amongst them some sideways situations for American firearm owners and Second Amendment supporters (which means everyone, in a fashion).  What's going on with the unintended acceleration from M18s?  Did Sig Sauer make a mistake or is this something worse?  What's better for our fighters to carry - an M18 or an M14?  Did we have these problems when US warfighters carried their 1911s cocked and locked?  Do all off-roaders carry a sidearm?  How about a frontarm?  Meanwhile, what's afoot and ahand with the underlying argument about craziness in the transmission crowd, and how American gun dealers are unintentionally making the case against dudes in the girls' locker room (ie: You can't blame the hammer for crooked nails.).  Meanwhile, let's all watch how the NRA negotiates this one (and how long is their game - Go Doug, go!). Here's talking at you: an F-35 conference call, polymath versus psycho, Leo Gordon, Bruce Lee Jr., self-defense spatulas, Sam Peckinpaugh, an Excellent Weirdo Sendoff for Graham Greene of "Maverick" and "Longmire", the Spiritual Beggars, Pelican and an Excellent Weirdo Sendoff for Dave Mustaine and his monster, Megadeth.

There's some strange things afoot at the Circle K, amongst them some sideways situations for American firearm owners and Second Amendment supporters (which means everyone, in a fashion).  What's going on with the unintended acceleration from M18s?  Did Sig Sauer make a mistake or is this something worse?  What's better for our fighters to carry - an M18 or an M14?  Did we have these problems when US warfighters carried their 1911s cocked and locked?  Do all off-roaders carry a sidearm?  How about a frontarm?  Meanwhile, what's afoot and ahand with the underlying argument about craziness in the transmission crowd, and how American gun dealers are unintentionally making the case against dudes in the girls' locker room (ie: You can't blame the hammer for crooked nails.).  Meanwhile, let's all watch how the NRA negotiates this one (and how long is their game - Go Doug, go!). Here's talking at you: an F-35 conference call, polymath versus psycho, Leo Gordon, Bruce Lee Jr., self-defense spatulas, Sam Peckinpaugh, an Excellent Weirdo Sendoff for Graham Greene of "Maverick" and "Longmire", the Spiritual Beggars, Pelican and an Excellent Weirdo Sendoff for Dave Mustaine and his monster, Megadeth.

Are you a maker or a taker?  We've made nothing but the good stuff on this episode: automaker OEs forgetting who owns the cars they sold (you) and taking away the performance over the phone (and forgetting the rules of Right-To-Repair as outlined by champs like Steve Wozniak and the federal case against John Deere).  Speaking of tractors, we've got a study of the big-head elitist media whackos at NPR who are either pretending they just discovered tractor pulling or they're actually that clueless.  There's also the new measurement of horse-pounds (when HP and FT-LBs ain't enough), Camping World's big American flags and even bigger FU to every city that complains about 'em, some thoughts about the hazards of folks who break into your country being allowed to drive 40,000lb not-very-guided cruise missiles, and some great video of a small Philippines Coast Guard cruiser outsmarting two Chinese warships into ramming each other. Backing it all up - literally and metaphorically - is The Prodigy and a proper Excellent Weirdo RIP for classic English acting oddball Terrence Stamp (if you haven't seen him in "The Limey", you're missing out - dude could act, and that movie's got fire and some high-Q ass-kicking).

Are you a maker or a taker?  We've made nothing but the good stuff on this episode: automaker OEs forgetting who owns the cars they sold (you) and taking away the performance over the phone (and forgetting the rules of Right-To-Repair as outlined by champs like Steve Wozniak and the federal case against John Deere).  Speaking of tractors, we've got a study of the big-head elitist media whackos at NPR who are either pretending they just discovered tractor pulling or they're actually that clueless.  There's also the new measurement of horse-pounds (when HP and FT-LBs ain't enough), Camping World's big American flags and even bigger FU to every city that complains about 'em, some thoughts about the hazards of folks who break into your country being allowed to drive 40,000lb not-very-guided cruise missiles, and some great video of a small Philippines Coast Guard cruiser outsmarting two Chinese warships into ramming each other. Backing it all up - literally and metaphorically - is The Prodigy and a proper Excellent Weirdo RIP for classic English acting oddball Terrence Stamp (if you haven't seen him in "The Limey", you're missing out - dude could act, and that movie's got fire and some high-Q ass-kicking).

The Garage Hour: home of microaggressions (plus the other kind) - your favorite gearhead goons got lost in the good stuff (Collegiate Mountains above Salida, Poncha Springs, Buena Vista and St. Elmo) and their trucks will never be the same.  Cohosts White Mark the Diversity Hire and the Walkin' Dude came along, and dragged FOB cohosts Papa Smurf and Mike the Gimp along for the fracas.  Trails?  Tomichi Pass and Hancock Pass (so many rocks), the Bonanza Mine complex (so many options), Mt. Antero (so many feet above sea level), Taylor Mountain (so many llamas), and Billings Lake (so many free beers)...  On the way up and down, new Ineos Grenaders were dropped on old rocks, old 4Runners climbed some new obstacles, an Extreme Outback toolbox compressor got a cohosting credit, and an e-Jeep almost drove itself off a cliff.  See more at "JFSummit3" on Instaspam. Along the way, many sidelong awesomes occurred: Sammy Davis Jr. and the "Cannonball Run", Charlie Daniels and the Beau Weevils, illegal ham and some Bad Fangs, a sweet StayinSalida rental won the cabin versus tent argument, and somebody decided to buy some new shocks.

The Garage Hour: home of microaggressions (plus the other kind) - your favorite gearhead goons got lost in the good stuff (Collegiate Mountains above Salida, Poncha Springs, Buena Vista and St. Elmo) and their trucks will never be the same.  Cohosts White Mark the Diversity Hire and the Walkin' Dude came along, and dragged FOB cohosts Papa Smurf and Mike the Gimp along for the fracas.  Trails?  Tomichi Pass and Hancock Pass (so many rocks), the Bonanza Mine complex (so many options), Mt. Antero (so many feet above sea level), Taylor Mountain (so many llamas), and Billings Lake (so many free beers)...  On the way up and down, new Ineos Grenaders were dropped on old rocks, old 4Runners climbed some new obstacles, an Extreme Outback toolbox compressor got a cohosting credit, and an e-Jeep almost drove itself off a cliff.  See more at "JFSummit3" on Instaspam. Along the way, many sidelong awesomes occurred: Sammy Davis Jr. and the "Cannonball Run", Charlie Daniels and the Beau Weevils, illegal ham and some Bad Fangs, a sweet StayinSalida rental won the cabin versus tent argument, and somebody decided to buy some new shocks.

Don't get traffucked - it's up to people who think, who see, and who comprehend to deal with the state of cars and trucks around us (instead of being ground into quivering sheetmetal jelly by the incompetence of the four-wheeled troglodytes and chuds who seek to drag us down to their level of base idiocy).  What makes it worse, bad bureaucracy compounds the failings of the flabby halfwit shoveling breakfast into her face in the hybrid in the next lane by adding ineffectual laws, dysfunctional lanes and obsequious lemminglike expectations like a blanket full of smother.  The Garage Hour is here to help, though - we'll point out the landmines, be they Sunday drivers on a Monday, dominant mergers, aggressive sloggers, lane splitters or local crashers. Lest we forget the icing: 4Runner shocks for boingless 'froading, cars that are too fat, bourgeois Jeeps, hardcore construction equipment and so much Snail (all "Feral", all the time).

Don't get traffucked - it's up to people who think, who see, and who comprehend to deal with the state of cars and trucks around us (instead of being ground into quivering sheetmetal jelly by the incompetence of the four-wheeled troglodytes and chuds who seek to drag us down to their level of base idiocy).  What makes it worse, bad bureaucracy compounds the failings of the flabby halfwit shoveling breakfast into her face in the hybrid in the next lane by adding ineffectual laws, dysfunctional lanes and obsequious lemminglike expectations like a blanket full of smother.  The Garage Hour is here to help, though - we'll point out the landmines, be they Sunday drivers on a Monday, dominant mergers, aggressive sloggers, lane splitters or local crashers. Lest we forget the icing: 4Runner shocks for boingless 'froading, cars that are too fat, bourgeois Jeeps, hardcore construction equipment and so much Snail (all "Feral", all the time).

The Garage Hour does good interviews (whether or not Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is any good at interviews), and we did a semi-sneak beer attack on Chris Hefty at the eponymously named Hefty Fab last month.  Unfortunately, with the hillclimb and about a gajillion client to-dos on the front burner, we're a little late with the upload.  Sort'a sorry!  No matter: it's worth the wait - we puzzle out the doin's of keeping a serious shop going when times get tight (as our hero Hunter S. once opined, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.").  Chris details the art of shifting the lift when retail production took a hit post-Scamdemic, the intense and varied demands of the "Please make my truck work" customer, and what it takes to chase the market when the market takes a left turn at Albuquerque. Because it's the Garage Hour, we've got more: bicyclists who just don't get it, whether cleaning soap is a procedural singularity, Nate's efforts to reinvent the Brady Bunch, how you can ruin a good message with too much creativity, the Hefty Internet Café, and dropping $40Gs for serious parts that don't get serious use.  There's also shock rebuilds, F-150s, Cherokees, an F-350, 80-Serieses in a big pile, Miatas versus S2Ks, and of course, 4Runners.

The Garage Hour does good interviews (whether or not Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is any good at interviews), and we did a semi-sneak beer attack on Chris Hefty at the eponymously named Hefty Fab last month.  Unfortunately, with the hillclimb and about a gajillion client to-dos on the front burner, we're a little late with the upload.  Sort'a sorry!  No matter: it's worth the wait - we puzzle out the doin's of keeping a serious shop going when times get tight (as our hero Hunter S. once opined, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.").  Chris details the art of shifting the lift when retail production took a hit post-Scamdemic, the intense and varied demands of the "Please make my truck work" customer, and what it takes to chase the market when the market takes a left turn at Albuquerque. Because it's the Garage Hour, we've got more: bicyclists who just don't get it, whether cleaning soap is a procedural singularity, Nate's efforts to reinvent the Brady Bunch, how you can ruin a good message with too much creativity, the Hefty Internet Café, and dropping $40Gs for serious parts that don't get serious use.  There's also shock rebuilds, F-150s, Cherokees, an F-350, 80-Serieses in a big pile, Miatas versus S2Ks, and of course, 4Runners.

You can't get this kind of goodness without a prescription (or a warrant) - it's a roundabout look at the upcoming 2025 Pike's Peak International Hillclimb [PPIHC.org (or .com - choose your adventure)], with everything from drivers, racecars (because racecar!), viewing (in-person or on TV and online), spectating (because you're not going to choke on race fuel fumes in your living room - probably), course info (best turns and, well, there are no worst turns here), and a little bit of history (because you can't do 100+ years of racing without having something historic happen).  Also, Hostus Maximus Justin Fort makes up a few words, describes a few things, and hits on a few highlights from the upcoming JF Summit #3. What's more? A head's up on an upside of the "big beautiful bill" - seems there is a little good tucked in this monstrosity for shooters, hunters and Second Amendment fans.  Also, backgrounds and full-on Euro club-hop weirdness from "This Is Everybody Too".

You can't get this kind of goodness without a prescription (or a warrant) - it's a roundabout look at the upcoming 2025 Pike's Peak International Hillclimb [PPIHC.org (or .com - choose your adventure)], with everything from drivers, racecars (because racecar!), viewing (in-person or on TV and online), spectating (because you're not going to choke on race fuel fumes in your living room - probably), course info (best turns and, well, there are no worst turns here), and a little bit of history (because you can't do 100+ years of racing without having something historic happen).  Also, Hostus Maximus Justin Fort makes up a few words, describes a few things, and hits on a few highlights from the upcoming JF Summit #3. What's more? A head's up on an upside of the "big beautiful bill" - seems there is a little good tucked in this monstrosity for shooters, hunters and Second Amendment fans.  Also, backgrounds and full-on Euro club-hop weirdness from "This Is Everybody Too".

Tools are for humans (and super-smart animals, apparently), garages are for cars, countertops are for food, and rollaways are for organizing!  This esoteric episode is all (mostly) about embracing the perfectionist - just a little - and making your tools and shop space match your intellect and style.  Because so many good projects and necessary repairs get hog-tied by bad organization, and a lack of operable tool enhancement can be submarined by a lack of organization, we want you to scratch that itch and embrace the OCD (if just long enough to put the nut drivers in the correct drawer). While we're at it, there's Jerry Reed and "Amos Moses", Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Ninja Tune and Funkungfusion, Electronic Excursions in Hi-Fi and Meat Beat Manifesto, and more "Kashmir' covers than you can shake a two-headed guitar at.

Tools are for humans (and super-smart animals, apparently), garages are for cars, countertops are for food, and rollaways are for organizing!  This esoteric episode is all (mostly) about embracing the perfectionist - just a little - and making your tools and shop space match your intellect and style.  Because so many good projects and necessary repairs get hog-tied by bad organization, and a lack of operable tool enhancement can be submarined by a lack of organization, we want you to scratch that itch and embrace the OCD (if just long enough to put the nut drivers in the correct drawer). While we're at it, there's Jerry Reed and "Amos Moses", Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Ninja Tune and Funkungfusion, Electronic Excursions in Hi-Fi and Meat Beat Manifesto, and more "Kashmir' covers than you can shake a two-headed guitar at.

Catching up with the backup - it's a timely episode of the Garage Hour (not to be cornfused with the usual when-we-can upload freakout).  There are still a few more further-behind  units to be kicked into production, so don't worry - you won't miss a thing. What's in this 'un?  Good electronics versus new, "dumb" appliances versus robot vacuums conspiring with the 'fridge, and the importance of having a good TV repairman up your sleeve.  There's a stint with the inevitable: electric cars and why taxpayer dough makes them soft and flabby (and inevitable losers); a possible breakthrough in small trucks (because it's simple), the spy on the counter, the spy in your solar panels, the spy in A.I., and how Carl Sagan called this 50 years ago (and Asimov did 100 years ago).  Add on a few thoughts about the freedom to roam (and boat, when you're in Florida (man)), and more from JFS3, and you've got a show. While we're at it, this episode's got a few Excellent Weirdo R.I.P.s for some high-Q fellows who left us (and it's not okay): Joe Don Baker, George Wendt and Bruce Glover.  Make it more: music from Karma to Burn, KMFDM, Deadbolt, Fatso Jetson, I Mother Earth, Dire Straits, Rev. Heat, Clutch, the Allmans and Fun Lovin' Criminals.

Catching up with the backup - it's a timely episode of the Garage Hour (not to be cornfused with the usual when-we-can upload freakout).  There are still a few more further-behind  units to be kicked into production, so don't worry - you won't miss a thing. What's in this 'un?  Good electronics versus new, "dumb" appliances versus robot vacuums conspiring with the 'fridge, and the importance of having a good TV repairman up your sleeve.  There's a stint with the inevitable: electric cars and why taxpayer dough makes them soft and flabby (and inevitable losers); a possible breakthrough in small trucks (because it's simple), the spy on the counter, the spy in your solar panels, the spy in A.I., and how Carl Sagan called this 50 years ago (and Asimov did 100 years ago).  Add on a few thoughts about the freedom to roam (and boat, when you're in Florida (man)), and more from JFS3, and you've got a show. While we're at it, this episode's got a few Excellent Weirdo R.I.P.s for some high-Q fellows who left us (and it's not okay): Joe Don Baker, George Wendt and Bruce Glover.  Make it more: music from Karma to Burn, KMFDM, Deadbolt, Fatso Jetson, I Mother Earth, Dire Straits, Rev. Heat, Clutch, the Allmans and Fun Lovin' Criminals.

If you've got a year's worth of 'froading fun (ie: dirt) crammed into every corner of your truck, reaching a "perfect" clean might not be a thing. Instead, aim for "maintenance clean" - the body is rinsed off, the two-bucket method is in overdrive, the dirt is gone, and the rig is neat enough that you can go back to work fixing what you broke on-trail (or wash it again to a state of "show detailed").  The Garage Hour discusses how.  We also chat about the need for a good fabrication guy, and why a good can of Krylon can be essential to your truckly appearance. There's also fun times with worn out electronics, worn out tires for White Mark the Diversity Hire's Grenader, worn out hi-po factory parts, and worn out old Metallica.

If you've got a year's worth of 'froading fun (ie: dirt) crammed into every corner of your truck, reaching a "perfect" clean might not be a thing. Instead, aim for "maintenance clean" - the body is rinsed off, the two-bucket method is in overdrive, the dirt is gone, and the rig is neat enough that you can go back to work fixing what you broke on-trail (or wash it again to a state of "show detailed").  The Garage Hour discusses how.  We also chat about the need for a good fabrication guy, and why a good can of Krylon can be essential to your truckly appearance. There's also fun times with worn out old electronics, worn out tires for White Mark the Diversity Hire's Grenader, worn out hi-po factory parts, and worn out Metallica.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and White Mark the Diversity Hire got lost in the hills (and their minds) for this one: two-lane blacktop uphill to see our old friends at Freedom:30 Arms for some lasers and weirdo rounds spurred the conversation about what makes a bullet a boutique round instead of a fad, and why .40 Smith & Wesson has staying power versus Mark's freaky LE-favorite .357 Sig Sauer.  We also get some Dude Food going, with a debate about how meat patties can be a loaf instead of a patty, and why the meat's more important than the shape of it.  There's also mountains to four-wheel for the upcoming JF Summit (#3!), and which is worse (a question): camel spiders or vinegaroons, and what stick to hit them with in either case. Let's just blame our busy days for the shortage of episodes...  The pace will get better (even if it doesn't look it).  ...With Fluke, pistachios, Otter Boxes and redneck North Koreans, it's so much Garage Hour, even if we had the attention spans of a gnat for this one.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and White Mark the Diversity Hire got lost in the hills (and their minds) for this one: two-lane blacktop uphill to see our old friends at Freedom:30 Arms for some lasers and weirdo rounds spurred the conversation about what makes a bullet a boutique round instead of a fad, and why .40 Smith & Wesson has staying power versus Mark's freaky LE-favorite .357 Sig Sauer.  We also get some Dude Food going, with a debate about how meat patties can be a loaf instead of a patty, and why the meat's more important than the shape of it.  There's also mountains to four-wheel for the upcoming JF Summit (#3!), and which is worse (a question): camel spiders or vinegaroons, and what stick to hit them with in either case. Let's just blame our busy days for the shortage of episodes...  The pace will get better (even if it doesn't look it).  ...With Fluke, pistachios, Otter Boxes and redneck North Koreans, it's so much Garage Hour, even if we had the attention spans of a gnat for this one.

It's not hard to make fine gearhead talk (TM) when the world lines 'em up like this: wicked and nasty Mercedes W196R Stromlinienwagen nets $54 mill on the block (and why modern go-fast cars can't hold a candle to the brutal elegance and sexual attractiveness of the classics), more failures of modern OEs as they try to avoid testing their hardware before selling it (and why WE aren't going out like a guinea pig), how BYD's going to use AI to make their customer experience ever worse, another story about how nothing makes things worse than the government, and how to avoid letting bad writers ruin good opportunities for gearhead behavior. While we're at it: cyborgs versus robots, STi versus 911, securing your home with smart children (and a kid from Kentucky who did just that), gardening for the head, sun tea for the old growlers, John Paul Jones on "Zooma", and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Air Force ace Bud Anderson.

It's not hard to make fine gearhead talk (TM) when the world lines 'em up like this: wicked and nasty Mercedes W196R Stromlinienwagen nets $54 mill on the block (and why modern go-fast cars can't hold a candle to the brutal elegance and sexual attractiveness of the classics), more failures of modern OEs as they try to avoid testing their hardware before selling it (and why WE aren't going out like a guinea pig), how BYD's going to use AI to make their customer experience ever worse, another story about how nothing makes things worse than the government, and how to avoid letting bad writers ruin good opportunities for gearhead behavior. While we're at it: cyborgs versus robots, STi versus 911, securing your home with smart children (and a kid from Kentucky who did just that), gardening for the head, sun tea for the old growlers, John Paul Jones on "Zooma", and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Air Force ace Bud Anderson.

With the throwback gratification of Failure's "Fantastic Planet" rolling throughout, the gearhead goons at the Garage Hour start out gritty with the bucket (or well-sorted trays) of backup bolts that every good geek has in the garadtch.  Note: if that pile of bolts (and rags, and parts, and tools) is getting dusty, you're not making enough - time to build, boys and girls.  There's also a look at the trannie nutjobs who are blowing up cars and dealerships, the politics of production (with perspectives from pinko China and politicized capitalism), and why race fans have very little interest in electric race cars (and still line up for vintage Trans Am, Thunderboats and NASCAR). Want more?  Miniaturized spyware in your USB cables from Tom's Hardware (and a look at when Western civilization figured out that SMALLER is more G-resistant), a retreat from cashless society in Europe, and the importance of protecting your data from the crazies, because they are what they do.