Author Archives: HankWatsonsGarageHour

Welcome to the Zombie Apocalypse Episode, v3: October 19

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Are you going to be ready when the zombies come?

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Okay, “when” might be a strong word, but you know it’s only a matter of time before you’ll be defending the homestead against shuffling hordes of undignified brain-dead seat warmers, and the Garage Hour wants to help. You. Cars, trucks, beers and guns – it’s what we do, and they’re all essential for a well-stocked zombie defense plan.

Tune in October 19 at 6:PM: the Garage Hour’s experts will break down the proper levels of firepower, essential stockpiles, the best non-projectile hand tools to use if quarters get close, and when to use a snowblower instead of a woodchipper.

Even better, we’ll get back in bed with the zombie-research classics – the right people to have along should the zombies figure out your address, the best celebrities to see run down and eaten by the undead (with a debate of the celebrity-brains/zombie-attraction conundrum), and whether or not television has it right about the walking dead. Oh yeah, and how could we forget: the triumphant return of the Walken Dead.

A Call to Action: Tell CA Gov. Brown to Protect the Second Amendment

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2012trapshoot300pxIf you’re a hunter, tactical shooter, firearms fan, gun collector, trap and skeet plunker or just a plain Jane enthusiastic American, you probably understand the consequence of the Second Amendment.  It’s not the 13th, or the seventh, or the 10th.  It’s #2.  Sadly, a significant number of California’s state reps do not, and they have pushed some potential laws through the state legislature that will make it almost impossible for Californians to embrace their 2A rights. These bills are before the governor right now.

Based on hyperbole, flawed research and kneejerk reactivism rather than actual facts, laws like SB 374 and AB 711 would outlaw semi-automatic firearms (more than 95% of firearms owned in America are semi-auto), ban detachable magazines, require citizen registration to purchase ammo, ban lead ammo, and enforce a slew of other wrongheaded ideas that will only serve to penalize and/or felonize law-abiding Americans while stopping virtually no crime.

The NRA has trained its sights on crushing these ill-thunk laws in court, and local reps like Assemblyman Brian Jones have been standup supporters of our 2A rights, speaking out against the bills now resting on the governor’s desk awaiting his veto (or God forbid, his signature). Now, what are you doing to explain your position to the Gov. Brown?

Visit CalGuns.net for more information about contacting CA Gov. Jerry Brown, and then do your part – pick up a phone, a pen or attack your keyboard with a polite expression of your support of the Second Amendment and your feelings about the dangers posed by these bills should they become law. Then, tune in to the Garage Hour, and we’ll have Brian on-air with us in the near future.

Attention SoCal Dirt Fans: Off-Road Expo, October 5-6.

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If you’re any sort of rock crawler, sand fan or dirt racer (or you just like your truck to ride at a jaunty angle), the biggest and best off-road only show – the Off-Road Expo – is going on right now at the Pomona Fairplex.  Visit offroadexpo.com for details.

Garage Hour pals Bilstein, Extreme Outback, Goodyear, Off-Road.com and Total Chaos will be there, plus hundreds more manufacturers, vendors and off-road equipment experts who can help you built, break and repair your truck (or side-by-side, if you prefer off-roading in a golf cart).

Sure, it’s not convenient if you live in Tulsa, but for Southern California types who live for trail and sand season (or rock and dirt season), clear your weekend and make your way to Pomona. We’ll see you there.

jf

Canyon Carving Season is Coming: Are You Ready?

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The seasons in Southern California are strange things. There is no Fall, Spring or Winter – if asked, most locals refer to them as Earthquake, Fire, Riot and Summer. Amongst gearheads, however, there are other seasons, including Desert, Off-Road, and Twisty; Twisty is almost here.

The twisty season is all about curvy roads, canyons in need of carving and hills in need of climbing. Roads with names like Sunrise and Ortega and Angeles Crest. You don’t need lots of power (though it’s nice) – this is about skill. A fast guy in a Miata can chase motorcycles all day long, just like a fast girl in a Mini. It’s also about having the right parts – brakes, tires, cooling – and the right skills – poseurs need not apply. Will you join us? Can you?

Twisty season is not limited to California, of course, but it comes at different times in different regions. When is yours? Here in SoCal, it’s coming. We’ll also be chatting curvies on the Garage Hour, so as the air cools and the turbos spool, catch us if you can.

jf

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ASDS shooting school competition October 5; plus Glock, Mossberg, ammo raffle.

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In response to popular demand, our buddies at Active Shooter Defense School are running their tactical/defensive shooting competition again. It’s right around the corner – the afternoon of October 5. Visit ASDSchool.com for more info. $35 to enter, and you get a raffle ticket for the after-shoot raffle: win ammunition, a Mossberg 500 or a Glock G19.

Of course, right around the corner is an expression, as the competition will actually be held at South Bay Rod & Gun Club.

The Garage Hour shooting team won’t be able to make the trip – we’ll be on-air with California State Assemblyman Brian Jones at 6:PM, and he will be getting all of our attention as we discuss the maddening anti-2A laws being pushed through Sacramento by an unaccountable progressive supermajority. Tune us in (after you shoot).

jf

Coronado Classics 2013: vintage race awesomesauce in San Diego’s back yard.

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It was an early Friday :AM that brought the Garage Hour to Naval Air Station North Island: last week was the Coronado Speed Festival (formerly known as the Classics), one of the best vintage race events in America. Our being there was not option – it’s a must-attend event. The Garage Hour had vintage racer and BMW retailer Jeff Gerken (BMW of El Cajon) on-air with us September 14 to remind our listeners that it was coming, and he was such a hoot he’ll be back on-air soon.

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San Diego garages are stuffed to the gills with a great assortment of excellent old race metal, and it shows at the Classics – more than 150 old race cars came out to the temporary airbase circuit at NASNI, representing race classes from IMSA, Can-Am, Trans-Am, NASCAR, SCCA, and dozens of other sanctioning bodies like the Carrera Panamerica, USAC and the like.

We’ll see you at the Classics… errr, the Speed Festival… next year.

jf

Garage Hour, circa 09.28.13 – gearhead paranoia, or has that always been there?

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We appreciate you joining us for a damned fast hour of gearhead talk tonight. Sorry about not spending more time on all the MRAPs appearing with local police departments, but hey, if you can’t figure out that something’s wrong when Officer Friendly shows up in an armored personnel carrier to get your cat down from the tree, you need to find another show. Seriously, go away.

What mattered tonight?  Old news is still fun news: Jeremy Clarkson punched out Piers Morgan (shouldn’t we all); old cars are great cars: the Lambretch Chevrolet auction in Nebraska; the Speed Channel is dead: long live Velocity (lousy name, great programming).

Coming right up: the Lake Elsinore Grand Prix (November 9), the Bates Nut Farm cruise (November 9), Santee Car Show and Barbecue (October 12).

We also chatted superlocal government with John Cox (neighborhoodlegislature.com) though the jury’s still out on whether it’s a good idea to have more politicians in California.

You can find out more about Matt Klier’s Active Shooter Defense School and his upcoming tactical competition at ASDSchool.com (want to win a Glock 19 or a Mossberg 500?). Matt will be back on air as soon as we get up the nerve to invite him.

Next week?  We’ll have California State Assemblyman Brian Jones with us to discuss the staggering infringement of our 2A rights by the progressive leeches in Sacramento, plus a little bit of background on Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who’d just be a warmed over ’70s liberal if it weren’t for all the smoke and mirrors. Can you say “Bermuda”? Oh yeah, plus all the nifty off-road mods we were planning to hit this week.

Tune in again next week, same Bat time, same Bat station. Probably.

jf