Thursday, September 10, 2026
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Monday his department is shutting down 110-plus driving schools after they issued driver's licenses to more than 5,000 individuals who failed ELP exams.
The department is also launching a nationwide audit of third-party commercial driver's license (CDL) skills testers and states' oversight of those testers
the UK hates, and has outlawed, bikes that can go faster than 15 mph... so this highly modified one really pissed them off when they caught it going 30 mph (and not paying for vehicle registration and insurance)
the bike had a scooter motor roughly wired to a battery held on by tape. The rear wheel had also been replaced with a smaller solid wheel.
Grass Valley, California, is one of the many cities that has ended its contract with Flock and removed all cameras from the city, the Flock reinstalled at least two of them without permission
the Grass Valley Police Department said that Flock Safety was following the maintenance provisions of its contract despite receiving a letter canceling the contract on August 11. GVPD said it continually takes down any reinstalled cameras and monitors other locations.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Only a week after posting Jim''s Comet, I found this Cyclone, with an old fashioned fuel tank solution (probably for weight transfer) - fishing boat, outboard fuel tanks, which I've never seen in any car, not even a rat rod
the Hi-Risers '65 Mercury Comet Cyclone. the Hi-Risers were a group of Ford employed engineers who raced on weekends, and set the NHRA B/XS national record for elapse time in September of 1966 at Ubly Michigan by going 10.24 at 136.75.
One for water, one for gas
interesting photo from Airstream's facebook page, a bas relief of Shapur I, who triumphed over the Roman emperor Valerian, in Iran, in 260 CE... the first time a reigning Roman emperor was captured alive in battle (photo from 1964)
In the summer of 1964, an American caravan arrived in Iran with its ambitious “Around the World” tour. Although founder Wally Byam (inventor of the travel trailer) had passed away earlier, his dream of global overland travel lived on through this extraordinary journey.
One unforgettable stop brought the caravan to Naghsh e Rostam, the ancient necropolis near Shiraz, Iran, dating back to around 1000 BC. Here, travelers stood before millennia of history carved in stone, including the relief of Shapur I’s triumph over the Roman emperor Valerian.
The Battle of Edessa (260 CE) was a dramatic encounter between empires, where the Persian king defeated and captured the Roman ruler, a moment which echoes +1750 years later as modern voyagers stay in awe of this timeless site.
One unforgettable stop brought the caravan to Naghsh e Rostam, the ancient necropolis near Shiraz, Iran, dating back to around 1000 BC. Here, travelers stood before millennia of history carved in stone, including the relief of Shapur I’s triumph over the Roman emperor Valerian.
The Battle of Edessa (260 CE) was a dramatic encounter between empires, where the Persian king defeated and captured the Roman ruler, a moment which echoes +1750 years later as modern voyagers stay in awe of this timeless site.
California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton says he wants to eliminate the DMV and lower vehicle registration costs (if he's elected) to a flat $73.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton Tuesday unveiled a proposal to abolish the California Department of Motor Vehicles as a stand-alone agency and reduce annual vehicle registration costs to a flat $73.
Hilton announced the proposal while appearing outside a DMV office in West Hollywood Tuesday as part of his "Califordable" campaign platform.
Under the proposal, the DMV would undergo a three-month audit before being eliminated as a stand-alone department. A smaller state operation would remain responsible for driver's licenses, fraud prevention, REAL ID and other records and safety functions, according to Hilton's campaign.
Routine vehicle title, registration and renewal services would be shifted to county offices and certified local service centers. Hilton's campaign said no DMV field office would close until an equivalent or better in- person service option was available nearby.
"California does not need a better DMV line. It needs no DMV line," Hilton said. "This is the miserable symbol of this bloated nanny-state bureaucracy, bossing people around while charging a fortune for the privilege."
Hilton also proposed capping annual vehicle registration costs at $73, which his campaign said would reduce state registration revenue from about $11 billion to $2.7 billion.
Hilton announced the proposal while appearing outside a DMV office in West Hollywood Tuesday as part of his "Califordable" campaign platform.
Under the proposal, the DMV would undergo a three-month audit before being eliminated as a stand-alone department. A smaller state operation would remain responsible for driver's licenses, fraud prevention, REAL ID and other records and safety functions, according to Hilton's campaign.
Routine vehicle title, registration and renewal services would be shifted to county offices and certified local service centers. Hilton's campaign said no DMV field office would close until an equivalent or better in- person service option was available nearby.
"California does not need a better DMV line. It needs no DMV line," Hilton said. "This is the miserable symbol of this bloated nanny-state bureaucracy, bossing people around while charging a fortune for the privilege."
Hilton also proposed capping annual vehicle registration costs at $73, which his campaign said would reduce state registration revenue from about $11 billion to $2.7 billion.
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
there must be new management at Hagerty Ins Co, because today's experience was clearly not up to their usual standard of simple, clear, easy, and friendly.
I get a statement in the mail, that my renewal will be about twice the amount I was charged last year.
Since there is not a SINGLE thing that has changed, to my credit rating, my zip code, my driving record (Unless you count another year of trouble free and ticket free driving as IMPROVING my over all average years vs claims numerical factor, in my favor) not my cars indicated value, nor it's garage location or status (still in the garage, it hasn't moved in about 2 years, it's on jack stands)
So I had to call to ask why.
Feliza answered. And wouldn't give me a simple straight forward &^Y%*! answer.
That's right, I'm swearing... because I had to ask about 4 times to get enough clues from what she didn't say, and wouldn't state, to ask the right question that she couldn't dodge.
340 last year, became 650 this year. Why? I haven't yet sent in a written mileage estimate of how many miles I'll drive this year, and they do NOT carry on from the last written estimate as something they will believe in perpetuity, in fact, after 12 months, they do not remember what my driving mileage has been, will be, ever was, or averaged. (less than 50 a year for about the last 10 years) (because I can't afford it, and did a BIG improvement that I went 3x over budget, and am paying down my credit card for)
So, regardless of the annual photo sent in once a year of the speedometer, and it's garaged status, and the 20+ years of being a customer that they can look at the mileage and average it numerically... they instead, quoted me for 3500 miles. Which there is no logical reason for, and no evidence of my having driven my 69 R/T for, in over a decade, maybe, even in two decades, that car hasn't went more than 400 miles... total.
But they went with %$@$^! 3500 miles of premium - about $650, and not the 341 they charged me last year, and the year before, for less than 100 miles.
And they do not have a Non Op insurance for garaged cars, unless you change your registration status with the DMV (waste of time) to Non Op
So until they receive a documented hard copy of an indication starting now that my previous 12 months of coverage is up, that I intend to drive it less than 100 miles, like the past couple of years, they simply send out a bill for 3500 miles of some cockamamie notion they decided is financially viable for THEM.
Lawyers, in laws, used car salesmen, and insurance people. Very difficult to get along with unless you have stupid amounts of money you simply don't care about, and gladly throw away
Louis Vuitton has been sponsoring racing since at least 2012
The car, driven by Gianandrea Redaelli, was one of 22 exceptional classics that completed the four-day journey from Venice through the Dolomites to Monza.
in 1964, a buddy agreed to smuggle his pal out of East Berlin... in the back of his Isetta. No, there is no trunk, there is no luggage area... he customized his engine area, removed the fuel tank, spare tire, rerouted the exhaust, and made a space big enough!
And they show how it was done on the new Grand Tour, episode 5.
this is how much space he had to fit in
By the time the Berlin Wall fell in 1991, a total of nine people were smuggled to freedom curtesy of a BMW Isetta.
He removed the air filter, the heating system, the spare tire and the standard 13-liter fuel tank and replaced it with a tiny 2-liter canister—just enough fuel to cross the border.
He stripped out t
In 2019, BMW commemorated this historical event by releasing a cinematic short film about the ordeal titled "The Small Escape."
The smallest armored train ever built, shot down 3 German aircraft during World War 2. A 1/3rd scale steam locomotive clad in boiler plate, armed with WWI-era Lewis guns and anti-tank rifles, crewed by 7 soldiers, was conceived and built in the 1920s by millionaire racing car drivers
originally conceived and built in the 1920s by millionaire racing car drivers Captain Jack Howey and Count Louis Zborowski
Count Louis Zborowski had constructed a railway at Higham Park, his home at Bridge, Kent, and agreed to donate the rolling stock and infrastructure to the project. However, he was killed in a motor racing accident at the Monza Grand Prix on 19 October 1924 before the Romney Marsh site was chosen, and Howey continued the project alone.
This miniature train is officially credited with shooting down three German aircraft during the Battle of Britain. Its claims include:
One Messerschmitt Bf 109 (The Luftwaffe's premier fighter)
One Heinkel He 111 (Bomber)
One Dornier Do 17 (Bomber)
Monday, September 07, 2026
quite a curious roadside tourist cabin
The small, log cabin type structures were likely a roadside motel, and may have been on the Alaska Highway.
