I may have been premature

I may have been slightly premature with my proclamation that the space race was dead in my blog post from six years ago. What I didn't know was that some of the same nerds like me who were inspired by the original race to the moon were billionaires with the same dreams.

The commercialization of spaceflight has grown in leaps and bounds, and you have investors like Paul Allen, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and more I am sure that they are showing us that commercial space travel is possible.

Space X is doing everything they possibly can to drive the cost of lifting materials into space down. They have reusable boosters that land themselves back at a designated landing spot. It can then be refurbished and reused. They are working on manned capsules and with the technology they currently have they are being paid to deliver goods to the International Space Station.

Elon Musk has everyone thinking large again, he is talking about returning to the moon. He wants to set up colonies on Mars. He has big plans... to say the least.

So the question is, how do we get the excitement that he and his employees show about science and rocketry and all that goes along with it spread into the school children of today?

That I do not know. I wish I did. Unfortunately there is too much static in the air, with politics and the social divide in this country. Is it possible that one of these giants of commerce starts some club that grade school children could participate in? Something that would excite them, make them feel as though they are part of the movement to the stars.

I wish I knew someone who could pass this idea on and perhaps make it happen. That would be a great thing for all of us. But as for now I think it is all parents job to push their children to dream and help them become excited about learning.

May or may not happen, but I'm still dreaming that it can....

Hard work pays.....

Lately, with Alysse going to college there have been conversations regarding what all college is about. Is it worth it? How to approach it? How to get the most out of it?

I realize its a beautiful taste of freedom. It's the ability to do what you want when you want to. To interact with other students with different backgrounds and beliefs. To spread your wings and your world view.

That is what I have encouraged my daughter to do. Enjoy her new found freedom. Embrace all of the new experiences you get with college, the dorm life, the insanely large classes, the girls in your hall, and the friends from home that have spread out to all four corners of the world.

I hope she is having a great time, and that she is enjoying life to the fullest....

With that said, I have preached to her from a young age, make good decisions. So we will get to see how well my wife and I have done at raising a very independent, intelligent, mature young woman. To date she is passing with flying colors. So girl grab life by the horns and hang on.

The other side of the conversation has been, you are there for an education that will last you the rest of your life. This will be the pivotal item that will most likely shape your work life and earning power. Realize that by doing well you will have the ultimate power of continuing to be an independent young woman with choices and the ability to sustain yourself.

I'm not saying that a degree is required, you can learn a trade, or join the military, so many other paths to success. But all of those paths to success require one thing, HARD WORK. I have said this many times to my young lady, and Ash and I have exhibited this trait to her every single day for her entire life. Get up, pull your boots up and go to work. We have been examples to her of what hard work and perseverance can allow you to achieve.

We have asked her to address her studies as if they are her full time job. Work at studying so that your boss won't fire you. Work as hard as possible to get promoted. Work as hard as possible so that your boss recognizes you for your hard work. If you do these thing you will continue to be successful.

I have no doubt that my daughter will continue to be successful, as long as she remembers that you have to work hard to be successful.

How could I write about anything but...

How could I write about anything but the eclipse? I really can't..

Luckily one of my coworkers brought in some #14 welding shields so we could safely observe the eclipse in all of its glory. It was definitely pretty neat, but I don't think it was worth all of the incredible amount of hoopla it was given.

I can now say that I have seen an eclipse, and check it off the bucket list. Thank goodness for that!

But with all of the larger items that we face on a daily basis, I cant help but wish that we could funnel all of this positive energy into folks helping each other, or just simply understanding where the other person is coming from.

I'll leave it at that and not get on my soapbox.

The only thing I can say is that based on the intellect of most of the general public, I think that Ophthalmologists and Optometrists are going to have a stellar month.

Salvage 2013 Focus Introduction

I have uploaded another video of the start of the 2013 Ford Focus Revival. Please take a look and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Have a great Sunday!

Salvage to Reconstructed Title in Louisiana

Following how to fix salvage vehicles and get them titled as reconstructed.

How to convert a salvage title to reconstructed title in Louisiana

ON AUGUST 13, 2017 BY GENO'S GARAGEIN SALVAGE VEHICLESLEAVE A COMMENT

Buying salvage cars and legally rebuilding them in the State of Louisiana.

To start with a little disclaimer, I am not an attorney and this is my understanding of the process. This article and the associated video

are both for entertainment purposes only. If the article helps you great, and it should help you but I make no guarantees.

I decided that I needed a reliable, economic and inexpensive commuter car at the beginning of the year. I drive about 400 miles a week back and forth to work. This gets expensive when your Ford F150 gets around 14 MPG.

I had a limited amount of money that I wanted to spend, and I wanted something that I could put a bunch of miles on and not have any issue.

I am somewhat mechanically inclined I decided to purchase a salvage title vehicle and then refurbish it and get a rebuilt title so that I could legally drive it.

In the state of Louisiana you do not need a dealer’s license to purchase salvage vehicles at auction, so I decided to keep an eye out on the local Copart auctions. I will write a blog on that process, but I wanted to first write this to help folks in Louisiana since I could find almost no information on the internet that explained the process of converting a salvage title to a rebuilt title.

I purchased a 2013 Ford Focus at Copart with 60,000 miles. It was beat up but not wrecked. It was in a tornado and was totaled because of cosmetic damage. It ran and was able to be driven onto the trailer to get it home. It was beat up and smelled terrible but the price was right.

When I paid for the vehicle and picked it up I was given a Title that was branded as a salvage title. Which means it was not able to be registered for use on the road. I could have filed for a dismantling permit which would have allowed me to part the car out, or I could fix it and then apply to get a rebuilt title. The rebuilt title allows you to register and insure the vehicle in the state of Louisiana.

The first step was to fix the car so that it could pass a DOT safety inspection, or “Brake Tag” as they are called. In my case this required me to replace a damage fender, replace a cracked windshield and replace a broken taillight.

Once the car can pass a safety inspection; it needs to be inspected by a commissioned law enforcement personnel who have successfully completed the Physical Inspection Certification training course.  Which in my case, I took the car to the State Trooper Detachment near my home. To have this inspection I took my salvage title, bill of sale, a list of all parts that were replaced and all receipts for those parts. The Trooper then compared the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) in multiple spots on the vehicle and the VIN on the title and bill of sale. Once that all passes he provided me with an “Affidavit of Physical Inspection”, which required to register the vehicle.

The next item you need is insurance for the vehicle. Since my vehicle was so inexpensive I only have liability on the vehicle. Geico however would have provided full coverage if I would have wanted it.

You then need to take the salvage title, the bill of sale, the “Affidavit of Physical Inspection”, and your receipts and the list of purchased parts to the DMV. And fill out an application for title.

There they will help you file all the paperwork required to get a reconstructed Title. I however went to a local car title company and they assisted me with all the additional paperwork. Since I had all my ducks in order, I could leave the title office with the car registered for road use and with a plate.

I went home, put the plate on the car and drove it to get a safety inspection or Brake Tag. This was an easy step and I received my two year brake tag.

I now drive the vehicle daily and to date I have put 3000 miles on it without any issues.

1991 Ford F250 Rebuild

Well a couple of years ago I decided I wanted a ford diesel truck. As an eternal cheapskate and somewhat of gear head I found an extremely cheap truck in the paper.

It was an ex-glass company truck. It had been maintained by a local glazier, but it looked as though they had drug it through hell backwards. It ran, but barely, the worst issue it had was bad brakes and body, and the interior. Plus the bed sides were ripped loose from the movement of the aluminum glass rack that had been installed in the truck. So I guess the entire truck was a piece of shit, but it was a bargain at $800.

I started by getting it running, and got the brakes fixed. Then I went and found a parts truck that had a bad motor but the body and interior were excellent. I was able to purchase that for $500.

The rest they say is history. I had the original cab stripped and painted, then we moved all of the parts onto the diesel chassis. With that I had a running, decent looking truck for right at $2000.

I drove the truck for 6 months, and it averaged around 20 miles per gallon. The air conditioning work, and the radio worked. So it was a fine commuter vehicle.

Unfortunately it made the mistake of breaking down with my wife and daughter in the truck. It actually was the fuel pick up, which is a typical failure on these trucks, but it was impossible to explain to my wife. Here is me begging for forgiveness during the wait for road side assistance.

It didn't work and the old girl was sold to a plumbing company to tow their excavator.

All said I made a few dollars, like $100. I drove it for six months, and I saved a truck and kept it on the road for a few more years. I sort of looked at it like recycling. It may be a polluter, but I have read that it still produces less green house gases then the process of building a new truck.

Moving my blog to https://genosgarage.company/

Decided to try my hand at having a complete website with the ability to blog.

Been thinking about hobbies and things to do with my spare time, and I decided that this is a good way to keep myself occupied.

So if you haven't yet, please go take a look at my new website and check it out.

I hope to have my musings, my projects, and travel.

Please take a look, realize that its a work in progress, and give me critical feedback on how I can make it better.

Thanks for all of your kind words to date.