Podcasts about m4a

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.

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.

So much afoot we've got two: there's the Avro Vulcan howl, the Corsair whistle, Hellcat .50s and tanks with cats, and a cool story about two F-14s that scrambled to blow up an egg salad sandwich.  Then there's tales of Tesla owners attacking each other when there were no protesters around, Honda and Nissan moving in and out of the US but not each other, and failure after failure of electric car greenthink when the "free" taxpayer bucks dry up now that reality is back in charge (ie: American mail trucks and Canadian busmaker bankruptcy). More?  Re-Soviet Russians doing what Russians do (serious wartime innovation) in their ongoing effort to take over their equally corrupt but less offensive neighbor, an anniversary look back at John Glenn hitting the skies for a quick trip around the planet 60 years ago, and Clutch all over.

So much afoot we've got two: there's the Avro Vulcan howl, the Corsair whistle, Hellcat .50s and tanks with cats, and a cool story about two F-14s that scrambled to blow up an egg salad sandwich.  Then there's tales of Tesla owners attacking each other when there were no protesters around, Honda and Nissan moving in and out of the US but not each other, and failure after failure of electric car greenthink when the "free" taxpayer bucks dry up now that reality is back in charge (ie: American mail trucks and Canadian busmaker bankruptcy). More?  Re-Soviet Russians doing what Russians do (serious wartime innovation) in their ongoing effort to take over their equally corrupt but less offensive neighbor, an anniversary look back at John Glenn hitting the skies for a quick trip around the planet 60 years ago, and Clutch all over.

Hostus Maximus and sometime savant Justin Fort goes full brain-dump on the kind of history that makes pre-teen kids deep-dive science for all the wrong reasons.  Obviously, when folks die because a ship full of ammonium nitrate or radical WW1-era explosives goes kablooey in the harbor, it's a damn shame, but you can't help but marvel at the sheer magnitude of serious industrial accidents (be they jet fuel, fertilizer, munitions or just leftover mine gas).  It's not just manmade disasters, though - Mother Nature (or Father Nature? Turnabout and all...) has a pretty good market for things that go BOOM too, like whole mountains and entire islands.  Join the show for an hour of train-of-thought goodness (and a reminder that mailboxes are federal property, "because you can" doesn't always mean you should, and if you want to blow stuff up, go pro and do it for a living). To max out the spicy, we've got the mine in Mike's basement, the legitimacy in Stephen King's short stories ("Langoliers" and "Night Flyer", for instance), some WW2 in Europe and the Pacific, submarines & "Das Boot", the return of the D2HIE1WHCII rule, and enough Monster Magnet to explode a horse.

...With an "Orange Goblin" backer (Frequencies from Planet Ten), we've got a good assortment of gearhead supersauce on this burger: blind squirrel finds a nut (bad gov't radio ads get one right while missing the point on distracted driving); speed limits for asteroids (does it apply to meteors?); weird foreign terrorist Toyotas in Wyoming (hat tip, "Cowboy State Daily"), taxpayer funding and corporate automaker interest drying up for electric cars (BMW on its lead foot and Porsche on its rear); Nissan gets caught on the wrong side of the border and its checkbook; a return to favor for gas stoves and incandescent light bulbs; small Japanese seats and brakes; HIDs versus LEDs. There's fries with that: scary words in your shampoo ingredients, honest humanity in your "Blazing Saddles", Mexican light bulbs, Korean stoves, the 1911's birthday and at least one sammich.

So much good stuff!  Don't be a menace to fellow motorists when failing to use your headlights in the dark - and don't mind while the Gearhead Consultancy laughs its pretty heads off when you get lit up (pun intended) by the Johnnies for DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY IN THE DARK WITH NO LIGHTS.  ...Way to act drunk or stoned or just dumb.  There's also some cop-on-politician violence (good), the Colorado Highway Patrol versus the CHiPs, a few thoughts on why motorcyclists' shoes fall off all the time, how the $5 billion spent by Joke Biden's DOT bureaucracy (under the deleadership of Pothole Pete) created exactly eight electric car chargers (and how the failure was caused by... bureaucracy...), and an analysis of how ineffective little beta "trucks" like Ford's Maverick are a wonderful analog for the weakness of pajama-clad pepperoni-armed top-knot beta boys. A few thoughts for the gearheads: Do jury duty.  It's so much fun (and you'll see law from it's unseemly underside). If you need your car to think for you, you're dumber. Remember when people bragged about being an elitist? Police bodycams are backfiring on politicians. While we're in there - and because the Garage Hour's audience appreciates folks who showed up and brought their A-game - we've got a heartfelt sendoff and Excellent Weirdo RIP for two great neighbors, George and Betty.  The world needs more folks like this, and we'll miss them.

So much exhaustion...  Caffeine fixes what the Sawzall can't, so we're here: the Gearhead Consultancy may be intriguing or offensive, but we're never boring.  This episode's got a micro look at the baby Superfund sites left at every house in LA that burned with an electric Statusmobile (TM) in the garadtch, a bigger look at where the makers of these toxic messes are heading (prior to burning), some of the shame of a city like LA that's got classic cars in every backyard, and the DOT's possible return to reality with a sane human at the helm. Once the room's been softened up a bit, we've also got underwater oxygen rocks, the National Guard and local PD turning a blind eye towards locals who've chosen to defend their homes and neighborhoods against the professional-grade looters raiding LA post-inferno, the mess on the US-Mexico border in even relatively safe areas like San Diego (can you say "cartel snipers"?), the LA DWP not letting a crisis go to waste, and how the radio outfits being bought up by leftist creep George Soros are already making America less safe.

Don't flinch or you'll miss it: squashy gumdrop Hyundais and crosseyed-cubist Land Rovers, dirty grabby D.O.E. palm-greased double-dealing from former Gov. Hatchetface, details of more battery "storage" plant (pile) fires set to poison the air and water (and dirt and neighbors), minivan idiots and their self-awareness fails (headlights for fun and profit), as well as tales of melted classic cars in Los Angeles garages and a border fire south of San Diego that's ruining lots of great four-wheeling trails and a bunch of sneaky Border Patrol hideouts. While we're at it, how about some support for the folks who were able to (or smart enough to) hold back and protect their homes and neighbors during LA's latest Dem-fired inevitable tinderparty, Hunter S. Thompson, William Gibson, bubbled mongoloids and DC staffers (as if they're not the same thing).

Slather on the Justin powa - from Canadian marionettes to catching up on your Orange Goblins, from dickheads with their high beams (and why is it always a Jeep or a Tesla?) to the rules about passing a snowplow, from Ford's exploding batteries to its self-disassembling front suspension (a case of the Teslas?), from Charles Bronson "fixing Emmitt" to the Israelis confiscating a lot of nice shotguns, from crashing into smaller things than you to Honda buying Nissan (why?), it's classic Garage Hour supersauce - spread it on. ...With Orange Goblin, Dire Straits, Masters of Reality, Soundgarden, Kyuss, Solarized, The Sword, Mastodon, Man or Astro Man and High on Fire.  There's also bears, crocodiles, birds and Dad's poor Buick Century.

Whether you're smart enough to know we're going to have some wind and fires in SoCal (duhh) or it's about a healthy distrust of government (kind'a like "technology", "gov't" is not on your side), a good gearhead just needs a reason not to be the meat in the seat.  A gearhead also needs a good soundtrack - how about some Monster Magnet, with drops from Pelham 1-2-3 (one of the best NYC-based caper movies ever made - it nails '70s NY atmosphere). Take a dive - logic's fine: prepping for disaster is a badge of honor (plus, you get to keep your house and classic cars).  You'll also avoid being one of the CA sheeple who 50 years of bad fire-prevention couldn't teach.  May you broadcast in interesting times...

Take a cautionary stance as gearheads, geeks and the great unwashed makers look forward to 2025 - it's our year to make great, but some of that tin needs straightening.  From the evil of your refrigerator conspiring with the dishwasher to convince the thermostat to drop the house to 42º, to the sloppy software from fool programmers on the wrong side of the wall allowing your data to be hacked by your car before you even get out of the driveway, it's time to get paranoid and understand that bad governance won't fix itself.  We've never seen so much of the tail of hidden corruption than we can now, so take a running start. It's in there: Sagan's theory on why tech without morality can end worlds (where's the stop sign?), why bad governors in sad states will still push failed technology (because it benefits them), and how the companies you shop need to be held to your standard (because Costco won't fix itself).

If you want to celebrate your mechanical success before you've succeeded, don't expect much success - Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and Ryan the BMWery Guy test their livers with a debate of all the excellent mistakes they've made when the sips start before the work stops. From the Perrin charge tube that's supposed to take a half-hour to install, not a half-week, to the little things we miss like which way the brake pads go (and what sort of sparks they throw), there's a way to do it and a way you shouldn't (and we've tried both). Not to get too far afield, there's more gearhead goodness to be had: thinking out tube bumpers, sliding your truck into a snow drift before you crash into it, loud and noisy thug trucks, SVT's good old days, verbicide, Mitsubishi Outlanders, vintage Garage Hour cohosts, plus tasting Bushmills and Breckenridge whiskeys, Peach Crown Royal, Absolut Vodka and High Country Lager.  There's also a host of tunes from Karma to Burn, 16 Volt and Deadbolt.

Well, it's that time of year - time for the Garage Hour to cram the episode full of silly holiday fun and outros.  How about some good gearhead up-to-stuffs while we're at it?  Tesla is facing another recall, but this one's full of shed.  Street-takeovers are violent, stupid, dangerous affairs, which we'd usually encourage so long as they are away from people, but crowds tend to get stupid in the worst places.  The postal service's electric trucks still suck.  Automotive journalist of great repute (and high-Q oddball) Jean Lindamood/Jennings gets a classic Garage Hour excellent-weirdo sendoff.  Also, Upslope Brewery's Draft Lager joined in for sips and grins. While we're at it, there's some fun thoughts about Christmas movies and family time (because it matters), the so-called government eradication of the Chinese murder hornet (and what could happen if they joined up with the desert helicopter wasp), Dennis Farina, Ray Liotta, and a set of chintzy Chinese (is that redundant?) foot warmers that cooked some ice-fisherman's toes.

This episode's got all sorts of trafficky truckin' road-interface goodness to assist you in your daily gearhead existence, but it's mostly about how to understand your tires and what's right when the white stuff is falling down in Front Range fashion.  Or any range...  We've got the grok on tire width, suppleness, temperature range, snow treads, chemicals and materials, ice versus snow driving, why it's a fine idea to have a second set of llantas for the off-season, and why you probably wouldn't wear hiking boots to a formal dance.  ...And why all that and a bucket of fish heads still won't save you if you aren't good at driving. Not to put too fine a point on it (we're ALL fine points here at the Garage Hour), there's also a little free gas (at the pump), a few thoughts about why that guy is following you (such a nice bumper), plus Floyd, FLeppard and Pantera.

It's tired and we're late.  No, wait a minute...  Okay, that's right.  There's much afoot at the Circle J, and the Garage Hour goons have another insightful batch of geekbrain excellence for you: the other side of the coin of our skillset episode a few weeks back, thanks to a gal in the #3 lane who couldn't look up from her Distractomatic 5000 long enough to not drive into the bumper of the truck in front of her.  Don't be the anti-inspiration for our incompetence episode (and don't be a Carl).  There's also guidance on measuring up to 100% you, avoiding the shallow end of the tool pool, using your head to avoid the obvious, and trying to use your capabilities once in a while instead of sucking all the time. Moving beyond the need for being the best you you can do (coocoo k'choo), there's insight on more electric car fails by the OEs (begging the G for good money to keep spending on bad ones), wildebeests and crocodiles and educational television (back when it was worth a beer), and steering clear of incompetence multipliers (and bent pliers).

It's one of those episodes that seemed totally disjointed but turned out GREAT (kind'a like good ribs)... White Mark the Diversity Hire had Hostus Maximus Justin Fort down to his dungeon for some 6.5 Creedmoor loading and a dissertation on the goodness of bad times - learning to be better (geek it!) with what you can get, such as when the Obama gun shortage taught builders and loaders to make excellent firepower out'a what they could find. Whether it's Winchester, Sta-Bal, Hornaday, Benchmark, Lever Revolutiopn, IMR, Accurate, Hodgon, or CFE, a shooter's got to shoot and a loader's got to load, and everyone got smarter. The original point of the episode was to visit another good side of Uncle Donald getting back into office: brooming the useless bureaucrats like Buttgig and Granholm who've been making a corrupt mockery of the job of the American government (and shine a little light on the effects of four years in Biden's basement). Then it's trucks, rocks, ribs, rubs, a Garage Hour sendoff for excellent weirdo Bernie Marcus of the Home Dee Pot, and a little bit of Herb Alpert, because beer (Red Leg's Spring's Lager).

You know what to do, so do it!  It's all about the skillset today: remember to smile when you pull a fast one (or a perfect one), because that's the sort of geeksauce that makes life worth doin'.  Did you save some cops from a deer-blood shower?  Did your old buddy Baris from Turkey pull a neato Euro-style brakestand to get parked in the snow?  Did you use your bumper and a little bit of tire-drag to descend a nasty hill full of ice?  How about everyday heel-and-toe?  Tools and devices for amplified powa?  Setting the skillset loose?  Keeping skills sharp and avoiding the more-tech skill suck?  Remember, tech isn't on our side, but your killer instincts and capabilities are. Yeah, so the episodes are out of order - trying to put to some of the newer stuff up and get back on schedule.  ...So much phooey.  From trapezoidal shelves and musical gambling to rental trucks from Arizona (because Kalifornistan) and humine encephalitis (because deer), this one's got it.

Alright, so there are a few things on your plate today that may involve the fate of America, but the Garage Hour is nothing if not distracting (with all the cars, trucks, beers, guns, parts, fixing, kerplosions and awesomeness) - let us help you escape, if just for a minute: lithium battery fires don't just kill people, they kill fire departments, household spies hiding in your vacuum, how diamond mines can tell you about cars and trucks being stored instead of sold, and how Kalifornistan keeps taking steps to kill itself. There's also some Hunter S. Thompson goodness, the human body (and why some more efficiency would be good), coyotes versus dogs (and their poop!), and a brief history of commies in government. Now go vote.

MobileViews mini-podcast 47 is a 2 minute recording testing the new iOS 18.1 Phone Call Recording feature. It is an iPhone to iPhone call. I used the 15 Pro Max's built-in microphone to while Jon Westfall used the iPods Pro 2 mic. At the start of the recording both Jon and I heard a low volume "This call will be recorded" message.Duirng the call recording my display showed an audio volume graph, call duration, and a red button to stop recording without dropping the voice call. Despite also using an iPhone on his side, Jon did not see any recording indication after the brief start of call notification. After the recording was stopped, an M4A audio file and an embedded text transcript was saved to the iOS Notes app. The transcript identifies the called party (Jon Westfall).

We'll trade you a four-pound sledge and a twitchy STi for the time to get more episodes published...  This one's full of traffic thinking, with a knobby-tired look at why good alignment matters (and dying end-links don't).  There's an in-depth analysis of how it's essential to be in an offensive state of mind when commanding your place in the flow (and why bubbling yourself off from those selfsame traffic physics makes you the problem we've been waiting for).  There's also a few thoughts about how "Broken Windows Policing" could do wonders for incompetent motoring. Don't fret: how about some Amon Tobin, Die Krupps, Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult (no "White Room" or "Yellow Submarine", however), plus killer Bronco audio, Mom's Camry, cars in garages and TVs in dashboards.

...A data-heavy slacker-upload episode for you - too much to do, so go do it. We did: wrasslin' animals and eating' bears, recalling Fords and Fords and DEIs and Toyotas and Fords and GMs and pickups and some junk in the trunk, as well as recalling a run from El Paso to Wisco in one of BFGoodrich's fleet of jacked-up Suburbans, and revisiting the Garage Hour rule that if you dig two holes in England (or Europe) there will be a skeleton or a bomb in at least one of them. There's also a Dude Food shout-out to liverwurst, a warning tear for DeWalt (what's trying to pull a Bud Light), and a serious discussion about how artificial reinsertion of apex predators into environments from which they've absconded (ie: Colorado's wolves, which are being eaten by cougars, and Italian bears, which are eating liberals). More goodies: cheap akiya homes in Japan, awesome actors in "Copland" and "Demolition Man", terrible flame throwing pinko battery deaths from scooters and other electric deathtraps worldwide, essential electronics repair and the necessity of having a wiring and circuitry guy in your stable, plus Sinister, Fishbone, Cheap Dates, Alien Faktor, U2 (really), Earthlings?, Desert Sessions, Butthole Surfers, L.S.G., Sausage, The Dead Elvi and Incubus.

At a bustling party that's much too loud, you meet Moon, a femboy with a love for indie music. Before you know it, a genuine connection forms. Amidst the chaotic party atmosphere, you find an unexpected yet refreshing bond, leading to a promise of another meeting.

Be the geek and improve the you: the Garage Hour is here to help (everybody, apparently)... The lovely Pam called needing info on detailing a dashboard and cleaning seat fabric, so the Gearhead Consultancy went to town with everything from car care on the Front Range to the beauty of factory headlight plastic - it's all about the sincerity of your detail.  With our old buddy Craig and special appearances from a $500 Civic, a hampster's Kia, a wrecked 4Runner, a very fine Legacy, a V-6 Accord, and a cherished STi, this episode's on track like a Big Boy.  Now, will someone tell us how to clean soap? Don't stop, go: Gruntruk, Toadies, Jane's, Butthole Surfers, Monolord, Low Rider, Coldcut and "Ugly Americans"... We cap it all off with a tale of how not to be a menace in the Bronx while leaving your Audi at a block party in the 'hood.

Don't let the compunannies and digidistractions make you less of a (hu)man - it's time to think before you sink (into the mud and unpacked dirt at that job site, Mr. Cement Truck Driver)... It's an episode full of whatever got in the Gearhead Consultancy's way, because we're too damn busy.  How about cops and their Exploders?  Good and bad strap technique for fun and disastrous truck towing and hauling?  Why that little light in your sideview mirror should warn motorists about YOU... ...And why turning across lanes to avoid one driver is a recipe for meeting other drivers the hard way.  So much good stuff... What about some thinly veiled leftism hiding in new limp-wristed podcasts?  Some Amon Tobin and traffic school?  ...Also, let's remember Scott Bloomquist, incredible dirt-track racer but not so much of a pilot.  R.I.P., you excellent weirdo.

You asked for it...  Well, technically, White Mark's wife got called in for double surgery so we just ran to the garage and started pouring powder and Gilark Whiskey (version-four rye AND version-five bourbon).  What resulted?  Hot .308s for the M24 (Nosler + Hornaday +Winchester + Vargit = 2500fps), a bunch of shaped and cleaned brass, and a wide-ranging chat about what goes into making good ammo (...because if you want it to be super, you've got to MAKE it super.), with recapping, resizing, case lube, work-hardening, and some geekly mechanical catharsis. Seriously, this one is stacked: how to sniff out a fed at the range (and how bad gov makes us all paranoid), stick VS flake, tricklers for powder, .30-06s and 5.56 at the range, lands jumping, breech wear, how not to get attacked by bears in Alaska and Mark's family in Louisiana, a little Dude Food segment, and some good tunes.

Straight from the no-math Greek-'froading bipedal-maintenance intro, it's a full hour of gearhead supremacy.  Two big topics loom: tech versus you (and two of the nastiest manifestations of the threat, including what's being done with your data and what the Chinese are doing with self-driving cars), plus a chaser about carmakers having to lie about electric car sales numbers because no one wants them.  From there, we've got what sensible carmakers like Ford and Toyota are doing (running away from electrics), while woketarded outfits like GM are barreling headlong into battery-powered doom.  ...Epoch Times and Legal Insurrection provided articles for this show.  There's also a little something about caffeination and hydration with sauce from the pickle ball pros at Holey Performance. ...Because you're already dirty: good whiskey, bad investments, the Caprice versus the Crown Vic, and rock from COC, Bowie, Ninja, Graveyard Farmers, Electronic Excursions, and Southern Culture.

Facilitators: Desi & Sandhya: Be My Eyes opt out provision; show more and hide in messages app; speaking to person at door on Ring Doorbell app; pairing Shook headphones;  copying a text message and  paste into e-mail message; scam notification that iPhone battery needs to be replaced; Apple Vis shutting down; Instant Heart Rate on iPhone; iOS 17.6 bug fixes; accessible thermostats, Net Infinity;  sharing an M4A file with Android user; iBUG Bytes - naming  your  iPhone or iPad; can add room locations for Home Pod and Apple TV; pairing Air Tags; iOS 18 beta has undo and redo for reminders; process for becoming a beta tester; two iPhone with a single number; answering incoming call on another device; watching the Olympics with audio description; changing timing of medication reminder in Health app; taking notes while on a call; changing Apple ID or restore to factory settings.

It's an afternoon at AutoVos with Brown Caleb, White Mark and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort.  There's a good chat on recoloring your coach with the new SVG dry PPF (SVGIP.com), tinting technique (using XPel), and a secret tint job for a Porsche that's heading for Kansas, and a visit from the Boys in Brown (trucks) carrying the new dealer kit from SVG for Caleb.  As per the usual, the gearhead goons get off course and have fun with the goodness: snorkels and rooftop tents (boo!), gun purchase numbers for Q1 in 2024 (yay!), and Nurburgring versus LeMans versus the Pike's Peak Hillclimb (soon). It's in there: a 996 Carrera 2 and a 997 Carrera 4S Targa, Porsche hand placement, Dos Santos for lunch, Putin's aversion to alcohol, Albright's aversion to Putin and JustMark's aversion to Albright on SMG753.

Phew!  We'll get back on track ASAP - there's a few episodes waiting to be put together, and the Garage Hour goons are on it.  This show's pretty gearhead: a prayer for John Force, whose funny car wasn't very (just add kerploding), a chat w/ our old buddy David Lozeau about how Jap cars, trucks and bikes parts were freakin' perfect in the '90s, how Toyota's fighting with bureaucrats about testing standards in the 2020s, why Ford's first-gearing F-150s are failing while Chrysler's reverse cameras don't see much, and why batteries and electric cars are running out of ways to pretend they're viable.  Sources include Breitbart, Yahoo, Asia News and Cowboy State Daily... While we're in there: Challenger 4-8-8-4 4014 is once again roaming the Midwest (apparently pulling the city of Cheyenne behind it), Pennsylvanians put $10 million in the garbage, and an excellent weirdo sendoff for "Kelly's Heroes" standout Donald Sutherland, plus Prodigy, Josh Wink, Chemical Bros., Prong, Orbital and KMFDM.

An out-of-order episode from Gearhead Consultantcy - blame the psychic iPod: hillclimb and mountain details for race fans attending this year's 102nd PPIHC… This is a special thing, and thanks to the officials, organizers, racers and crews that make it possible (with a little help from the Garage Hour), you can better sink your teeth into one of America's most iconic motorsports to-dos. …Spots to spectate, locations to get to, background on names and why they matter, plus neatos like the flyby at Glen Cove, getting airborne at Engineers, the other side of Bottomless Pit, natural terrain versus “built” roads, why George's Corner is the best spot on the hill, and yelling at photographers. Then again, it's the Garage Hour, so there's more: why all the trees fell down, weed whacking your leg for fun and pain, hidden reserviors, Sesame Street versus the Muppets, Fisker's refail bankruptsy, personal hillclimbing versus 100% race, driving music for brainly balance, and tracks from the Hillclimb Special.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! For activists in the movement to make Medicare for All a reality, this is the week when we gather to plot, scheme, and kvetch. Welcome to the 2024 Annual Medicare for All Strategy Conference, “Healthcare Beyond the Ballot Box,” organized by Healthcare NOW! For those of you who are attending the conference right now, you are getting a sneak preview of our Very Special Conference Episode! Since our theme this year is about what happens to Medicare for All in an election year — and beyond — we wanted to invite some of our favorite policy people with their fingers on the pulse of what's happening in DC to help us sort out what's happening with healthcare on Capitol Hill and what role we can play to get some justice out of DC in the coming year! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n36v0eTV1a8&t=1167s powerpress Our guests are Eagan Kemp and Alex Lawson. Eagan Kemp is the health care policy advocate for Public Citizen's Congress Watch division. He is an expert in health care policy and served as a senior analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office prior to coming to Public Citizen. Alex Lawson is the Executive Director of Social Security Works, the convening member of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition— a coalition made up of over 340 national and state organizations representing over 50 million Americans.  Show Notes With one of our major candidates being a guy who is solidly against Medicare for All and the other being Trump, is 2024 a bad federal election cycle, or the worst federal election of our lifetime, and why? Alex puts a positive spin on it: we are closer to M4A with a Biden presidency than any other Democratic presidency. He's definitely not a M4A guy, but all his other economic policies are based on Sanders-esque populism, rather than Obama-esque neo-liberalism. We've seen Biden enact serious corporate reform in several sectors, and in a second Biden administration, taking on corporate greed and sociopathy in health insurance is on the agenda. On the other hand, we know exactly what's at stake with another Trump presidency, driven entirely by profit for his billionaire friends. Eagan notes that there has been movement on Medicare in recent years, including die-hard GOPs shying away from talking about cuts to Medicare until after the election. At the same time, we're seeing Biden moving more toward the M4A movement and the folks trying to expand and improve traditional Medicare. We're seeing insurance companies running scared, feeling the pressure from our movement in a way they haven't before. Alex notes that Biden's economic vision contains a lot that Medicare for All folks can work with. Our movement worked hard to expand Medicare to include vision, hearing, and dental, which was ultimately included in Biden's Build Back Better plan. We didn't get that, but we did get prescription drug negotiations, which is a huge part of improving Medicare before we expand it to everyone. (Go back and listen to another episode where we were joined by Alex to discuss prescription drug negotiations for more details.) We've also seen a lot of good work against Medicare privatization, via Medicare Advantage, and that solidarity has moved the ball a lot - more than ever before to restrain private insurance companies. We didn't just give up when we knew Biden wouldn't sign M4A; we pivoted to expanding benefits and reversing the privatization with a lot of success. Eagan found a silver lining in - of all places - the subject of private equity in healthcare. He thinks we've passed the peak of PE ravaging healthcare, and they are now backing off the healthcare sector in part because of increased pressure from the DOJ, FTC and HHS. That's due to pressure from doctors, patients, and whistleblowers. Eagan also notes that the Trump administration pilot of throwing seniors in traditional Medicare into private relationships with providers.

…Lots of parts to this episode, but they fit:  with Faith No More on the soundtrack, Hostus Maximus Justin Fort does everything from excellent Dude Food (fine sirloin and the only way to enjoy fish tacos), a revelation of historic WW2 Jap tunnels under Okinawa by NHK, scary details of federal bureaucrats trying to double the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (and send taxpayers to the poorhouse), and a proper sendoff for NFL standout (back when the NFL was worth a shed) and seriously powerful dude Larry Allen, whose pleasant normalcy made him an excellent weirdo. While that's afoot, there's a leg too:  Joe Biden's basement ruining Rubio's, electricity, trees and NASCAR (or what's left of it), UPS stalkers, new automotive crime from gangs in NYC, and some cool WW2 history.

So much episodery coming… This one's a deusie - everything that's going on to mess with your gearhead and geek existence.  From GM torpedoing the Malibu to Kalifornistan blowing up your right to roam, it's in there.  Remember, just because you don't care about politics doesn't mean politicians don't want to screw you. There's some good stuff to be heard on this episode, though - longtime contender for Best Boss Ever Col. Doug Hamlin just got voted in to fix the NRA, Texas AG Ken Paxton just scored one for America versus Biden's basement, and rock and/or roll with Melvins, Union Underground, Puny Human, Atomic Bitchwax, Adema, Ennio Morricone, Deftones and Killing Joke.

Finally, something good comes of enabling: enable your garage to do more gearhead things (and stuff)!  Just Mark, Just Caleb and Justin sit down amongst the Porsches at the new AutoVos (Caleb bought out EAS and went independent) for an hour of making garages better.  Stop polishing the door handles and think bigger:  (tasteful) additions of more floor and door, coating and levelling those floors, getting more work underway with ramps and stools, expanding the tools available with better boxes, plus seasonal enhancement with heating and drainage, and while we're thinking big, how about building up with a second story and a bridge to the house? There's so much more: a semi drag races a Rav4, Ruger makes a nice .22, the Dutchese sell a pricey Stryker, Great Divide, Big Sky, Cerviceria and Trinity brew fine beers, catwalks make a handy way to repel the hipster hordes, plus Man or Astroman, Galactic, Pantera, Dead Milkmen, Fugazi, Truckfighters and Five Horse Johnson.

While sipping some super sauce at local brewer Pike's Peak (home of too much wind and a few excellent beers), Hostus Maximus Justin Fort did a fine observational study of quarter-powered spray and wand car care.  With details on doin' from brush cleaning to pressure application, to some not-tos to avoid that will turn your car washing adventure into a frizzle-fry of your fancy finish, this episode's got it:  some BMWs, a Pilot and a Legacy, some Mustangs and the Cutlass Two-Degrees Theory, a 4Runner, some mud, and some strange pepperoni-armed top-knots who have the car-care acumen of a left-handed turnip. While he's at it: Mother's Detail Guide, too much pressure or not enough kid, Chef Jeff, the Minnesota Cohost Report, dogs, geese, fat people, inside brooms and rocks for railcars.

What does your Second Amendment right to defend your person, people and property have to do with the government-funded effort to reinvade rural lands with man-eating (and livestock-eating, dog-eating, kid-eating and small car-eating) apex predators?  Federal interference in your life.  …Government overreach, bureaucratic N.I.M.B.Y.ism, a collectivist enthusiasm for a forced march into urban squalor, and the slippery statist fever dream of an empowered state at the expense of you, me and we - the independent American.  Sh!t's getting weird fast - opt in to protect yourself now, cats and kiddies. Some episodes go together like white on rice, but this guy was hanging in the lurch for weeks.  It's got lots: running with a sidearm, Mad Cow for deer now, 700,000,000 standard-cap mags, AR-15s under assault, and loads of Deadbolt - plus some.

Gearhead Consultants and Garage Hour hosts Justin Case and Marking Time met up high above the city to watch it all burn during our recent eclipsalypse.  Rounds were chambered, pizza from Sprouts was et, and beers from Red Leg, Pike's Peak, Outer Range and Dry Dock were sipped, but unfortunately, no pepperoni armed pajama perp apocalypse was thwarted, not even in the driveway.  Fortunately, Justin and Justmark didn't mind missing “shoot, shovel and shut up” because doin's were to be discussed: a positive word or three about hybrid automotive technology, the growing dumbness of nanny tech in cars, Eneos sneg for fun and kitchen, Van Café and LaRue for edible freebies, and Dude Food ala dove and grilled sirloin from Omaha Steaks. Don't forget the sauce: Led Zeppelin, free televisions, Gold Camp Road, apocalypse booze and getaway vehicles, some guns, historical eclipses, more electric car fails, and Chuck Norris.

So much good stuff…  From better and worse James Bonds (Connery versus Moore, the right and wrong Brosnhan… Brosnan…  Brosnahan…. Remington Steele, and the “other” Bonds) to Lotus Esprit (and which one) versus DB5, DB7, 750, and AMX versus Javelin, the Gearhead Consultancy promises to ricochet off the point.  Bond guns.  Bond villains.  Octopussy versus A View to a Kill.  Pussy Galore versus Verper Lynn.  Add to that a celebration of crappy guns, like an A5 Remington 1911 that shoots itself, a break-action Rossi that only shoots on safe, and Jim's Thumper, a personal pocket five-round .44 Special super-snub that'll deafen the bad guy whether or not the round hits anyone. Also, Bond tunes ala ska band (what?):  Skatellites, Roland Alfonso, McCartney, G n' R, Duran Duran and the Propellerheads.  Also also, very nice sips from FH Beerworks, Living the Dream and Epic Brewing.

…Catching up with the episode backlog - only more to go.  Played in and out by Snail (more happy bluesy doom, says Conan), this Garage Hour's got everything you like.  Cars and trucks (why to never buy a rental car, and diagnosing your short-bed problems), beers and guns (well, a ton of Second Amendment info about how states like Colorado and Kalifornistan are still seeking to disarm you shortly before seting grizzly bears and wolves loose in your back yard). There's also chainsaw-grade shorts, the better “Blade Runner”, a look at how much ammo you keep (hint: probably not enough), ATF fails, and a sendoff for excellent weirdos Paul “Iron Lung” Alexander and Emmit “You Didn't Know You Knew Me” Walsh.

…Like a kid full of candy who won't shut up and go to sleep, it's the episode that would't go to bed - so much doin' and so little time.  Well, it's done: Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and Porsche Boy JustMark met up in the hills for fine sopressata, Irish whiskey (that loved Justin but hated Mark) and a chat about pocket pistols - commonly called a “micro” nowadays.  From Derringers to Jennings and S&Ws and LCPs, the gerhead consultants whip it out and compare misfires. When it was all said and done, it was just stuff we like (or like to hate):  Jaegermeister, Kennewick Man, glue versus screws, Grenadier versus 4Runner, Hickock .45, stoned drivers, Trotski, used Porsches and guns, das hooter, Porschelish and Japlish, Metzger engines, old retaining walls, old steel and old mining history.  Oh yes, plus Apocalypse Now, Heart of Darkness, Air America, Wooley Bully, Tour of Duty, Dredd and Riddick.

Video: https://youtu.be/_oNvMUmo4sI Lossless Audio: https://www.bandrewscott.com/blog/bsp381 Topics discussed: M4a vs. MP3 which one sounds better including demos, Comparing the Rode Lavalier II, Countryman B6, Sanken Cos 11D, and Shure TL48, Why I am strict with my diet, finances, and exercise, and a few other things in the value for value section.   Subscribe to the full audio podcast at http://www.bandrewsays.com   Gear Used This Episode (Affiliate Links): Neumann U67 Reissue:  https://imp.i114863.net/u67 Rode NTH-100:  https://geni.us/rnth100 Universal Audio x8:  https://sweetwater.sjv.io/uax8   As an affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.    Ask Questions: https://www.askbandrew.com Merch: https://www.podcastage.com/store Discord: http://www.podcastage.com/discord   00:00 - Intro 00:32 - M4a vs MP3 - Which Sounds Better? 06:18 - My Thoughts on M4a vs MP3 11:54 - Rode Lavalier II vs. Countryman B6 vs. Sanken Cos 11D vs. Shure TL48 17:00 - WYHTS: Why Not Practice Moderation? 29:00 - Value for Value 33:04 - Conclsuion   #Audio #LavMic #Podcast

While the cohosts are away building bumpers, bullets and blackout tint, Hostus Maximus will play (with Tomahawk, all show long).  Gasoline and caffeine.  7mm-08 and .308.  Bourbon and coffee.  iMacs, iPhones and iCars (win, win and lose).  Automakers losing their electric religion as shoppers lose the fad.  Integra and Cutlass.  Woke fails at 30,000ft and corporates bail on ground-level politics. Meanwhile, we've got some stand-in cohosts:  Dave Mustaine, Thomas Sowell, Layne Staley, Mike Patton, Rob Zombie, plus CHUDS, troglodites, morlochs and the lung brush.

What do you get for the episode that has everything?  This cut of the Garage Hour with Justin, Justmark and Justcaleb even sports a backup Caleb (in the form of his sensible son Liam), who schools the newbs on smart kid firearm rules, and Justmark on MySpace humor.  Just to be thorough, there's a race report from this year's 24 Hours at Daytona, a range report on an almost-on M24 in .308 and a never-off Weatherby Vanguard in 7mm-08, a reloading report featuring Hornaday, Vargit, AA, boat-tails, NATO M80s and fire-formed brass, and a wayout report on what old hamburgers and Jap bombs from WW2 have in common. It's in there: advice for children about guns (from a kid who appears to know well enough), Green Street and McCurdy's Bodyworks in Pasadena, the best (and least) U.S. presidents, plus rye bread.

JFK on 4k? We'll make your day! That and new Criterions, classic TV, Alexander Payne's award-winner The Holdovers, plus Wade and Tim and super-special guest weigh in hard on awards season! DigiGods Podcast, 01/16/24 (M4a) — 67.1 MB right click to save Subscribe to the DigiGods Podcast In this episode, the Gods discuss: About My Father (Blu-ray) Ancient Aliens®: Season 18 (DVD) Anna Christie (Blu-ray) Babylon 5: The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Battle Kaiju Series 02: Ultraman vs. Alien Baltan (Blu-ray) Before Night Falls (Blu-ray) Best Birthday Ever (DVD) Blast of Silence (Blu-ray) The Blind (Blu-ray) Butcher's Crossing (Blu-ray) Champions (Blu-ray) Christopher Strong (Blu-ray) The Devil Doll (Blu-ray) The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series (DVD) Eddie Murphy Raw (Blu-ray) The Exorcist: Believer (4k UHD Blu-ray) Five Nights at Freddy's (4k UHD Blu-ray) Flying Boat (DVD) Gentleman Jim (Blu-ray) The Great Ziegfeld (Blu-ray) Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (4k UHD Blu-ray) The Holdovers (Blu-ray) Hotel Transylvania Transformania (Blu-ray) In Love and War (Blu-ray) Into the Weeds (DVD) JFK Collector's Edition (4k UHD Blu-ray) Joe Pickett: Season Two (DVD) Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Volume 2 (Blu-ray) Love Actually anniversary 4k UHD (4k UHD Blu-ray) Mad City (Blu-ray) The Man in the Iron Mask Collector's Edition (4k UHD Blu-ray) A Midwinter's Tale (Blu-ray) The Miracle Club (Blu-ray) Mob Land (Blu-ray) The Odd Couple: The Complete Series Box Set (DVD) Padre Pio (Blu-ray) Palmetto (Blu-ray) PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Blu-ray) Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (4k UHD Blu-ray) Rapa Nui (Blu-ray) The Red Balloon and Other Stories by Albert Lamorisse (The Red Balloon, White Mane, Circus Angel, Stowaway in the Sky, Bim the Little Donkey) (Blu-ray) Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (Blu-ray) The Sandman: The Complete First Season (4k UHD Blu-ray) Saving Grace (Blu-ray) School of Rock (widescreen) School of Rock 20th Anniversary Steelbook (Blu-ray) Showdown at the Grand (Blu-ray/DVD) Strays (Blu-ray) A Sunday Horse (DVD) Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) (Blu-ray) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (4k UHD Blu-ray) That Girl - The Complete Series (DVD) A Thousand and One (Blu-ray) A Towering Task (DVD) Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology (Blu-ray) Varsity Blues (4k UHD Blu-ray) What Happens Later (Blu-ray) What's Love Got to Do With It? (Blu-ray) Wichita (Blu-ray) Please also visit CineGods.com. 

What is spitballing? A way to open up new ideas and possibilities in response to a writer's story in a way that brightens their imagination and allows them to “steer into the curve,” making the story truly their own. Michael Lowenthal, who teaches a similar workshop method with the Story Lab at Lesley University, gives us some pointers about how to make the process work and what to avoid.There's still time to register for our live webinar, beginning tomorrow. Email me at 7amnovelist.substack.com if you want to take part. You can also watch the recordings here on our SubStack page or listen to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Subscribe to our Substack page for updates.Want “spitballing” help for one of your own writing obstacles? Subscribers can email a one-minute-or-less recording (Wave, MP4, or M4A format) detailing “What's Holding You Back?” to 7amnovelist@substack.com. If making a recording seems impossible, submit your responses in writing (under 200 words).Michael Lowenthal is the author of four novels: The Same Embrace (Dutton, 1998); Avoidance (Graywolf Press, 2002); Charity Girl (Houghton Mifflin, 2007), which was a New York Times Book Review “Editors' Choice” and a Washington Post “Top Fiction of 2007″ pick; and The Paternity Test (University of Wisconsin Press, 2012), an Indie Next selection and a Lambda Literary Award finalist. His short stories and essays have appeared in Tin House, Ploughshares, the Southern Review, Guernica, True Story, and the Kenyon Review, and have been widely anthologized, in such volumes as Lost Tribe: Jewish Fiction from the Edge, Bestial Noise: The Tin House Fiction Reader, and Best New American Voices 2005. He has also written for the New York Times Magazine, Boston Magazine, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Out, and many other publications. His first story collection, Sex With Strangers, was published in March 2021. Lowenthal lives in Boston. Since 2003, he has been a faculty member in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. Thank you for reading The 7am Novelist. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Ady Barkan was a lion for healthcare justice. After his diagnosis with ALS, he spent his final years fighting for Medicare for All. Ady passed away this month at 39. We go back into the AD archives to 2019, when Abdul sat down with Ady to learn about his activism and his hopes for the America he'd leave his kids.

TMBS 127 aired on February 12th, 2020 Episode summary: We won't beat the GOP with half-measures & we cannot compromise on M4A.  Shoutout to Abby Martin (@AbbyMartin) for standing up against for her right to free speech and the rights of Palestinians.  Krystal Ball (@KrystalBall) joins us to break down NH and the lack of vetting of moderate candidates.  During the GEM, David (@davidgriscom) warns about the danger of water privatization.  Malaika Jabali (@MalaikaJabali) joins us to talk about her new documentary "Left Out." TMBS ReAirs come out every Tuesday here and on The Michael Brooks Show YouTube Channel. This program has been put together by The Michael Brooks Legacy Project. To learn more and rewatch the postgame and all other archived content visit https://www.patreon.com/TMBS -- - The TMBS ReAir project was created to give people who discovered Michael's work towards the end of his life or after his passing a weekly place to access his work without feeling overwhelmed by the volume of content they missed, as well as continuing to give grieving friends, family and fans their Tuesday evenings with Michael. While the majority of the content and analysis on TMBS has stayed relevant and timeless, please remember some of the guest's work and subject matter on the show is very much linked to the time when the show first aired. The appearance of some guests on TMBS does not constitute an endorsement of those guests' current work.