[Vwdiesel] To Hagar and"How did you find this place?"

[William A. Thompson]

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Hey Hagar ... I have particularly enjoyed your ramblings and descriptions o=
f the methods of your madness. Your mind twists and turns similar to mine .=
.=2E left turns in your stream of consciousness where others expect a right=
 turn, with tidbits of "wisdom" that sound like pearls from a lifetime of e=
xperience and reflections in thought. Reminds me of the people I have learn=
ed the most from ... my only regret is that I ran into them at the time whe=
re the most accurate description of them is "they have forgotten more than =
most ever have or ever will know". I was fortunate that they still had more=
 knowledge than most will ever amass. Now if only I can decide if I have re=
ached that higher plane of existence or if it is just the onset of "senior =
moments" that I have endured !!!
I "ran into" this place (vwfans) fairly easily actually ... a well worded s=
earch with Hotbox. I've been into computers since when you had to build it =
to have one and on the internet since '87. I am still running the first "re=
ady made" computer I bought ... a '286 6/12 MHz that came with 512k of memo=
ry, a one sided 360k floppy, a 10 Meg hard drive (the first ones available)=
 and to upgrade to 1.5 Meg cost me $1400 and a 512k(?) baud modem cost $600=
+=2E Now it has a few more Meg of memory and more hard drives and is servin=
g up files as a 3.12 Novell Server. Of coarse I have a few more computers r=
unning on a mixed environment LAN with 2k Adv. Server, several Novell Serve=
rs, multiple Web and FTP server sites that are local to my LAN and computer=
s for all in the family so I don't get kicked off when sons need to do home=
work or wife wants to chat.
The only trouble I have with my computers is hardware related .... the manu=
factures don't build stuff to last as long as I run them so when a hard dri=
ve goes down hard I have to get out my most current image of it and dump it=
 to a new drive (had to do that twice so far) ... I have one computer that =
I have run since '91 with no need to reinstall any software or hardware. Th=
e only other problem I have had is the younglings (so called computer gurus=
) around me not believing that it is possible to run hardware and software =
that long ... or that I'll beat my head against a problem preferring to sol=
ve it rather than avoid it by a fresh install of all software or buying new=
 hardware.
Now if only I could get thru their hysterical laughter when they see my 286=
 chuggin' along, to explain to them the security I get from  the Novell Ser=
ver that resides on it ... The thing has never gone down ... never been hac=
ked although it is fully exposed to the 'net ... it and forces logon within=
 and from outside my LAN to where if I don't allow it you can't use any of =
my computers or files no matter what and even if I do allow ... you only ca=
n do what I allow while you are logged on. I have known people that reforma=
t their hard drive and reinstall everything in sight at any first sign of a=
 problem ... which to me is like buying a new car to avoid putting air in t=
he tires or taking it to the "Stealership" only to have them shotgun the pr=
oblem with parts and labor hoping something they do will "fix" it.
Opps ... perhaps I digress to far off topic ...
In my family I run and maintain 4 Rabbit diesels that are run every day of =
the week, I am progressing thru restoring 2 maybe 3 more ... I avoided fore=
ign cars and metric tools until the gas prices got so insulting and I final=
ly wised up. The only wrench that turns on my cars are from my toolbox and =
in my hand, to where, when I can't jury rig a "special" tool I bite the bul=
let and make the worthwhile investment that pays for itself usually on it's=
 first use. I would like to get the stuff to do complete head jobs but that=
 is still in the research phase as to $ and the practicality of what might =
be a case of diminished return. I do my timing ... alignments ... everythin=
g that doesn't require machine tools that I can't mimic with other tools as=
 yet ... I can't stand throwing money at some bozo that tries to tell me th=
at the "oil" in my strut housings is the evidence of the struts being blown=
 cause he don't know it is the oil put in there by me ... following OEM ins=
tructions ... to keep the struts from rusting from water that would otherwi=
se collect between the strut and the housing. All I asked him for was a sim=
ple alignment (before I found the tool from http://www.longacreracing.com/c=
atalog/item.asp?id=3D1074&catid=3D5) and he tried to talk $400 outta me for=
 struts, tie rods, ends and labor (Les Schwab, maybe I can get sued too huh=
 Hagar?).
I look forward to your posts, especially your "To fine-tune a rabbit to qui=
t smoking" musings ... mine don't smoke but I have my own fuel ratio adjust=
ment methods for gas carburetors that is far better than any I have seen fr=
om others and it was a product of not being satisfied with the common "turn=
 it in 'til it stumbles ... turn it out 'til it stumbles and set it in the =
middle" method. I am glad to find a kindred spirit out there in cyberspace =
that can "appreciate" my convoluted ramblings (ravings?).

Bill

Not satisfied with stumbling thru the corridors of life like others, with t=
he only compass being the bouncing off the walls from one side to the other=
 =2E.. I chose to walk a different path for better or for worse ... at leas=
t I am doing it in what I perceive to be, "my way" with no one to blame but=
 myself.