Stargazer's Garage

Earlier this week I replaced the LED city/parking lights on the HIDs with new ones. Only the passenger's side had actually died, but I decided to replace both because the old LED on the driver's side was noticeably dimmer than the new ones. See below the fold for additional information. Prior to importing my R32 to Canada I had the city/parking lights wired to the ignition so that they would work like DRLs, a Canadian requirement. Why didn't my 2004 VW R32 have DRLs? Actually, the 2004 R32 did have DRLs stock... with the stock halogens. I'd originally disabled the DRLs in preparation for installing OEM HIDs (I'm still irritated that VW decided that only 2004 R32s sold in the United States would have halogens -- everywhere else in the world they were sold the R32 came with HIDs).  Anywhoo, I'd decided having the city lights work as DRLs was a much better choice than having the HIDs suffer at partial power while running in DRL mode (not good for HID life...

Hard to believe I've been driving my R32 for eight years, now.   It boggles my mind.  Has it been that long?   While the R32 may have picked up a few cosmetic flaws over the years, I think I've kept it in pretty good shape.  My biggest concern these days, from living in southern Ontario, is potential salt and/or rust damage the R32 might be accumulating hidden from view.  My R32 is mostly a weekender, these days, and during the winter I try to rinse off the salt regularly, but you never know. The VW fuel consumption estimate for the 2004 R32 is 19 mpg (city) and 26 mpg (highway), which in my experience has been reasonably accurate, with one caveat.  In 2011 (fuel economy data for previous years can be found here ) I had an average of 18-19 mpg with a mix of city and highway driving.  Pure city driving it can be as low as 13 mpg.  On a more positive note, with pure highway driving it's easy to average 26-27 mpg.  In celebration of eigh...

#Audi R8 Spyder @VanAutoShow #VIAS11 #cars Originally uploaded by istargazer . I visited the Vancouver International Auto Show earlier this week on opening day and got a chance to get up close and personal with a lot of amazing vehicles. Continuing my habit of only carrying my cellphone, I took as many pictures as I could while the battery lasted. When that died, I took out my iPod and continued taking shots:o) All the pictures have been edited on the iPod (using only free apps because I'm cheap) and while the editing process is slow, you can see the set as it grows here: Flickr: Vancouver International Auto Show

Mid-lunar eclipse Originally uploaded by istargazer . This is a hand-held shot taken through the eye-piece of a 10" Dobsonian telescope from the west coast of Canada, August 28, 2007.

Lunar eclipse Originally uploaded by istargazer . The lunar eclipse that occurred tonight on Winter Solstice was not visible in Vancouver because of cloud cover. The picture above was a handheld shot taken on August 28, 2007 through the eyepiece a 10" Dobsonian telescope.

I decided to start Geocaching with the kids this summer. Instead of buying a separate GPS device, I downloaded a free geocaching Android app for my LG EVE GW620 smartphone. It works reasonably well. We started close to home and found this one near the old Westwood Race Track. You can find more information about geocaching here: Geocaching.com

Our Duty Done , originally uploaded by istargazer .

2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Originally uploaded by istargazer . I was just looking at the stats on my Flickr account and discovered something interesting. For some reason, this particular picture--out of all the 900+ pictures I've uploaded--has the most views of all. As of this post, it has been viewed 26,787 times (not including myself). I wonder why that is because it hasn't generated as many comments or favorites as some of my other pictures.

The orange ribbon of an early morning sunrise Originally uploaded by istargazer . I was honored to receive a request that my photos be used in a contemporary ballet called Intersection that will be performed in Denver, Colorado area later this month. Very cool! Dear istargazer, I would like to request the use of your photography under the Creative Commons license you have applied to your work. My name is Garrett Ammon, and I am the Artistic Director of Ballet Nouveau Colorado. I am currently in the process of creating a new contemporary ballet, in collaboration with Poet Michael J. Henry, entitled Intersection. The ballet will be an evening length work incorporating poetry, music and dance, as well as projections of photographs, video and text. The ballet will be presented in the denver area from October 30 through November 8, 2009. Your photography will be incorporated into projections that will be displayed across two screens above the stage and/or on a television that will be uti...

420 Originally uploaded by istargazer . I took this picture almost 2 years ago shortly after I had the RCE Sport springs installed on my 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The location is a Park and Ride station and I thought it was an interesting spot. I had no idea the significance of "420" until someone posted a comment. I had to google it to find the meaning to educate myself--LOL! Anyway, there was a huge crowd in downtown Vancouver today commemorating the occasion.

After 50,070 miles my R has officially become a Canadian citizen. It survived the roughly 1,200 miles, most of it driven in snowy darkness, it took to complete my relocation to the Land of Tim Hortons. The R hopped through the hoops set by the Registrar of Imported Vehicles, jumped the hurdles set by Ontario motor vehicles and as of the afternoon of 3 February 2009 my 2004 Volkswagen Golf R32 received its Ontario tags. Actually, I’m debating whether to even to put them on as I’ve ordered personalized ones. The R is white with salt and I’m seriously contemplating taking it to a “touchless” car wash, a concept previously verbotten in Maryland. See below the fold for the first pics my R in Canada.

Well, the reason why we bought our Denali arrived yesterday: Baby Enzo , originally uploaded by istargazer . Specs: Gender: male Weight: 7 lb 0 oz. Length: 19.5 inches In-service date: 4 December 2008 Build date: classified Production number: 005 Mom and baby are doing fine :0)

2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali Originally uploaded by istargazer . I was able to wash our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali yesterday and take some new pictures of the 17" ATX Thug winter rims I installed last week . Now I can explain why it ended up taking me two days to complete the install. Everything was going fine that afternoon and I was on schedule. I had all the wheels installed, nuts properly torqued, and TPMS sensors successfully reprogrammed. In fact, I had already inflated two of the Firestone WinterForce tires to the proper PSI when I noticed the directional arrows on the sidewalls were pointing the wrong way. I discovered that had installed all four tires on the wrong side of the vehicle. So I had to remove and swap them around--that was eight tire changes! But that wasn't the end of it. I had to reprogram the TPMS sensors again. The procedure to get the car to relearn the sensor position is to let air out of the tire. When I let air out of the first tire, I was a bit ...

Happy Halloween! 2008 , originally uploaded by istargazer .

Red Eye Skull Denali - closeup , originally uploaded by istargazer . By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes: Open, locks, Whoever knocks! ~ Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I

Denali-HDR1 , originally uploaded by istargazer . Round about the cauldron go: In the poison'd entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Swelter'd venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot. ~ Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I

Denali-HDR2 , originally uploaded by istargazer . Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. ~ Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I

The GMT900-series platform introduced for the 2007 model year is General Motors' latest generation of full-size SUVs and trucks. These vehicles include the Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. Another thing that they share in common is a feature with a curious acronym called the Driver Information Center (DIC). With the DIC, users can customize options like: Display Language Auto Door Lock Auto Door Unlock Remote Door Lock Remote Door Unlock Delay Door Lock Exit Lighting Approach Lighting Chime Volume Park Tilt Mirrors Easy Exit Seats Memory Seat Recall Remote Start Of course, not every vehicle in the line-up has the all the features. As the GM owner's manual states: "Only the options available will be displayed on your DIC." I can see it now: America's driveways filled with excited new GM owners playing with their DICs to see what they can make it do! :LOL:

Some vehicles we've seen seem to put the front passenger in "Economy" class by not providing the same power-seat options as the driver. The 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali has 10-way power seats for both driver and passenger. This includes power lumbar support and heated seatbacks/seats (user-selectable). The 2nd-row outboard passengers also get heated seats. There are 2 memory seat positions for the driver that are linked to the power reverse-tilt mirrors and to the power pedals. There is also a memorized exit mode that will move the seat backwards to make it easier to get in and out.... We had a reverse-tilt mirror on our 1999 Volkswagen Passat GLX and I loved that feature because it made backing up so much easier. What surprised me about the Denali's reverse-tilt mirrors is that both driver and passenger outside mirrors tilt down. And you can program it yourself to have one or the other or both mirrors tilt when you put the vehicle in reverse. I guess this can be really ...

The 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali has a 6.2L V8 engine with 380 hp and 417 lb.-ft of torque.