PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Can you change the colors of the backlighting? Can you be on a phone call while also being able to view the map?

 

Sony car audio has gone downhill since the 90s, but I think a lot of their other electronics have as well. I have a Sony laptop that is garbage because it overheats within 15 minutes and keeps powering itself down and I had a Sony picture camera I bought 10 years ago that only lasted me a couple years before breaking.

In general, I would just stay away from Sony. When it comes to car audio headunits I like Pioneer, Alpine, and Kenwood.

 

No to changing the backlight colors, yes to being able to use Bluetooth while simultaneously using GPS.

 

...^^^... Nice pics with a little history too.

 

Fun fact from my friend John (I have a couple friends named John; this is the awesome Rolls-Royce expert from Hong Kong):

The "fine lines" on Rolls-Royce motorcars were done by hand with a special brush called a fiche, made with squirrel hair.

 

British vehicle terminology (some of which I already knew) from my contact in Hong Kong:

Backlight=Rear window
Bonnet=Hood
Boot=Trunk
Cantrail=Interior side panel of roof
Cushion=Seat bottom
Drophead coupé=2-door convertible
Estate=Station wagon
Facia=Dashboard
Fixed-head coupé=2-door hardtop sedan or coupé
Gearbox=Transmission
Lorry=Commercial truck
Pickup=Pickup truck (i.e. A Tacoma)
Quarterlight=Vent window (front or rear, defined)
Rear companion=Rear vanity mirror
Saloon=Sedan
Scuttle=Cowl
Shooting Brake=Sporting Estate Car
Squab=Seatback
Swage line=Body crease (Design feature)
Waistrail (Also known as garnish rail)=Veneered rails at top of doors at waist level inside)
Windscreen=Windshield
Wing=Fender

 

@HomerTaco
@Plain Jane Taco
@DustStorm4x4
@Blackout14

Here's a story of one of the nicest individuals I knew in my youth. Her name was Gertrude Okyere (that's pronounced Ah-Cher-E), and I met her in 2002 not long after starting the 8th grade. We had just moved from Oak Harbor, Washington to the DC metro area, and once again I was a fish out of water (I'd never truly been "in the water" since 3rd grade, when my dad was nearing the end of a 2-year tour of duty in Northern California).

So, as I said, Gertrude's last name was spelled "Oh-Key-Air." As such, when she introduced herself by name most people pronounced her name in this way (or Oh-Key-Air-E). As I said before, it's pronounced Ah-Cher-E. Some of you have probably figured out that this is not an American name. You're right. Gertrude's dad was a diplomat from Ghana (in Africa in case you didn't know). This was the DC suburbs, so there were a lot of diplomats and ambassadors living in the area. I met Gertrude in 8th grade, but we were at our closest in terms of friendship beginning in high school. I was first introduced to her by a classroom aide when I needed extra help with an assignment.

We were both only 13 years old at the time, but I remember thinking she was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen in my 13 years of existence. On top of that, she was smart, like wise beyond her years. She helped me with the assignment, and from that point on, she was often partnered with me to give me a little extra help whenever I needed it. We got along great, and the various behavior quirks that came with Asperger's didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. She was always nice to me from the very first day we met.

Obviously, being from Ghana, she was black. However, I assumed for the first year or so I knew her that she was African-American and not just African. She is the only person I've ever met named Gertrude who was born after the baby boom. The person who immediately came to mind when I learned her name was Gertrude Chandler Warner, the late author of The Boxcar Children, one of my favorite childhood book series (Hardy Boys, Boxcar Children; I loved those books and read them all throughout middle school). In 8th grade, ironically it was none other than the lovely Gertrude who found out I was still reading Hardy Boys mysteries and convinced me that maybe I should read something more "grown-up." We bumped into each other (not literally) in the school library, and she could tell I was looking for something, and asked me what I was looking for. I told her, and well, read above...

I did not know Gertrude's last name until the end of 8th grade when we got our yearbooks.

Then, when we all went to high school and started 9th grade, I learned a bit more about Gertrude's background. The only reason I was surprised she'd spend most of her life in her native Ghana because she spoke perfect English and did not have any kind of accent. I remember this conversation almost perfectly. Gertrude was no offended in the slightest at my assumption, and said that everyone she met was shocked when they learned she was from Ghana for this very reason.

The second thing was my pronunciation of her last name, which she also said that everybody got wrong.

Gertrude was happy to answer any questions I had about growing up in Ghana. She basically described public schools in America as a vacation compared to the school she'd attended in Ghana (I forget whether she went to public or private school over there). She said she felt like a soldier at her school in Ghana, most notably because uniforms were mandatory and the whole student body had to stand at attention outside the school every morning.

Gertrude did tell me one "can't make this shit up" story. When she was a baby, her oldest brother thought it would be a good idea to take her out of her crib and bounce her up an down like a basketball. This was back in 2003 or 2004 so I forget all the details, but Gertrude's fate was either a broken collarbone or a dislocated shoulder. Her brother placed her back in the crib, and nobody knew she was injured as severely as she was until two or three days later. Gertrude was just a baby, and this was back in like 1989 or 1990 so I can't imagine that orthopedic treatment in Ghana was anywhere near what it was in America, so they put Gertrude's arm back together and put her in this cast that encased her whole upper body and the injured arm. She did not remember it very well.

Gertrude's family went to the same church as me and my parents, and I developed such a crush on her that she was sole reason I went to Sunday school. We always sat together at lunch in school, though I don't think we had any classes together in high school.

And, did I mention she was very, very pretty? She was quite attractive, and like I said she was smart. When we were in school together, her goal was to one day become a lawyer, specializing in international law (For some reason I think she'd be quite good at that).

I last saw Gertrude in 2005, and then we moved from Virginia to Pennsylvania. I have tracked her down on Facebook, but I friend-requested her in July 2015 and that request is still pending almost 2 years later. Her page has not been updated since September 2016. If Gertrude is the same now as she was when we were in 9th and 10th grade, I know for a fact that she is not ignoring me and just doesn't use Facebook. She was always very conservative.

Gertrude is just another amazing person from high school who I wish I was still in contact with today...

 

Hope you hear from her. Sounds like you still have a soft spot for this one.

 

Ironically, right after I posted this message, she finally responded on Facebook! Based on her Facebook pictures, it would appear she still lives in Virginia!

 

@Plain Jane Taco
@The Hunter
@98tacoma27
@HomerTaco
@Blackout14

Oh, do I ever miss the nineties...



And a Tacoma was a faithfully reliable, no-nonsense compact pickup that you could order as basic and no-frills, or as fully loaded, as you wanted!

 

I was born in the 80's and all of this applies still. I loved Hee-Haw!

 

I read them both and laughed, I was born in 69 and feel like both apply to me. Great memories!

 

Bought my taco in 2013, sticker expired February 2014. Since then I did not renew. No mechanic touched my truck since I bought it, I do everything myself and probably with more care then any mechanic could. I go beyond "severe service" intervals and refill with expensive stuff like Red-line.

On other hand I got 2 tickets, I think they were $40 each. I was parking on meters in Philly. Now if I go to the city, I don't park at the meters, I go to garage. Some say that inconvenience, but to me looking for parking is inconvenience and no sticker gives me another excuse just to park in the garage.

Did not have problem parking anywhere else. Had interactions with PA and NY cops who looked at front windshield and did not say a thing. Mater fact, last time was last week when cop was writing incident report for my slashed tires.

If I knew honest mechanic who would do detailed inspection, not just check a box, then I would not mind paying for safety inspection at all. (I will not do emissions at mechanic because I can test that myself, plus truck is new)

 

Got to REALLY test out the GPS while driving to a car show/cruise night in Quakertown yesterday afternoon...

 

At idle in traffic with outside temperatures in the 90s!

 

And a pic of the temp gauge from a couple days earlier...

 

UPDATE (Photos from June 11, 2017):

At idle in traffic with outside temperatures in the 90s!