Eric Redifer

The Mustang That Arrived in Pieces

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A rusty 1966 Mustang convertible arrived as a trailer full of parts. Two years later it left as a finished car—and a lesson in the difference between restoring something and wanting to keep it.

A Fixer's Guide to Chainsaws and Lawn Equipment

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How a $100 pile of dead lawn equipment turned into a dozen running chainsaws, what I learned about fixing two-stroke engines, and which brands I’d actually buy.

Three Golf Carts: Two Flips and a Keeper

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Two dead golf carts, one flipped for a profit and one sold to a hard-bargaining minister, and an auction Club Car that’s been hauling trash at the lake all summer.

The $3,400 SeaSwirl: A Fence, a Bad Tooth, Disney World, and a Boat I Didn't Need

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Florida fence job led to a $3,400 center console, a 1,100-mile tow, two engine teardowns, and one unexpectedly fast little boat.

Maintaining Your Mental Health

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I often tell people that life is like a flowing stream. Sometimes you flow through rough, rocky sections that test your resolve. Sometimes you flow through sunny, calm sections that are warm and beautiful. Most of it is something in between—rocky sections that can still be beautiful, like this scene from Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The $1,750 U-Haul: Bringing an Old Box Truck Back to Work

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How a rusty, 325,000-mile ex-U-Haul box truck became the workhorse that moved a condo’s worth of used furniture, and paid for itself several times over.

50 States!

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

July 2022,

The last few days I picked up a vehicle out in Portland Oregon and drove back home to Indiana. As part of the trip, I drove the length of North Dakota from west to east. It was the last of the 50 United States for me to visit. I don’t know how many folks actually make it to all 50, but it was a bit of a challenge to do it. I would recommend everyone try to see as many as you can.

Finding things that need fixed

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

As I said in my introduction, I like to fix things. I take pride in finding the problem that somebody else missed, repairing it and seeing some thing that is left for dead come back to life. Be it a piece of furniture, a machine, a car, or a bicycle.

The Companies I've Worked For

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will trace the companies I have worked for, why I joined each one, what the work became, and what I carried into the next chapter.

Building a Fence in Florida

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A week in Florida became a full-time fence project—and one of the ten home projects Drew later reviewed on video.

Geist Lake

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Geist sits just outside the northeast corner of the I-465 loop, straddling Indianapolis and Fishers.

Indianapolis Water Company map of Geist Reservoir, likely from the late 1950s. The small numbers are water depths at full pool, and the old Fall Creek bed winds through the middle. Courtesy of the Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library, IWC Collection, via Class 900 Indy.

Winter on Geist, seen through our bay window.

In 1991, when we were starting a family, we bought a house on the northeast side of Indianapolis in a nice neighborhood in the woods. Nearby was a large reservoir, Geist Lake, which was rapidly being built out with some of the nicest houses in the state. Most of the waterfront homes are fairly lavish, 6,000 to 10,000 square feet and up, and at one time the area was listed among the top 50 neighborhoods in the United States.

Working in the Background

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For every Edison or Tesla whose name became a brand, there are fifty people who did work just as consequential and vanished from the story. I’ve been collecting them for years. What started as a hobby became a small obsession, because once you notice the pattern you can’t stop seeing it: the history of technology is mostly written about the wrong people.

Easy fixes vs. hard fixes

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Or I should name this blog “Easy fixes that turn out hard vs. hard fixes that turn out easy” You see, even though I’m pretty decent at fixing things, I’m still terrible at judging how much work it will take to fix something.

Dealing with Back Problems

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will document my experience with back problems: what helped, what did not, and how I learned to keep moving without pretending the problem was not there.

My Education and My Recommendations for Education

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will tell the story of my education and the practical recommendations I would make after seeing how education, ability, opportunity, and experience interact in the working world.

Condos at the Pointe

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our vacation paradise, twice

In the summer of 2000, we had been boating at Geist Lake for a couple of years in our 20-foot Bryant bowrider. We loved boating and the water. The neighbors who had gotten us into boating in the first place had a place near Bloomington at Lake Monroe, in a development called the Pointe.

Driving my new “Totaled” truck from Portland to Indy

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

July 2022 – A couple weeks ago I bought a 2020 Toyota Tundra sight unseen from the insurance auction in Portland Oregon. I like my 2010 Tundra so much that I wanted to get an identical newer one, before they get a lot of miles on them.

Maintaining Your Flexibility

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will explore the role flexibility plays in staying capable, avoiding injury, and continuing to do useful physical work as the years accumulate.

My Financial Advice: The Richest Man in Babylon Book Review

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will review The Richest Man in Babylon and the financial principles that have remained useful long after the book was written.

The Consulting Process and Lifestyle—Lessons Learned

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will examine the consulting process and lifestyle: understanding the real problem, earning credibility, helping an organization move, and living with the travel and uncertainty that accompany the work.

The AI Job Revolution: Why 1900–1920 Holds the Key to Our Future

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The year was 1900. Forty percent of Americans worked on farms. Today, barely 2% do. Yet we’re not starving—we’re thriving.

As headlines scream about AI displacing jobs, I’m reminded of a century ago when the world experienced its most dramatic economic transformation. Between 1900 and 1920, humanity witnessed the birth of the automobile, airplane, moving pictures, radio, refrigeration, the telephone, tractors, plastic, highways, stainless steel, electrification and central heating in homes. It was an era that fundamentally reshaped how we lived, worked, and thought about the future.

I bought the worst Honda scooter in America… Can I fix it?

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Well, maybe not the worst, but it’s pretty bad. It’s a 2002 Honda Silverwing scooter, which is a big – well scooter. Many people love them and take them all over on rides. They were made from 2002 to 2013. I’ve been curious about alternative types of motorcycles the past couple years, having bought my Honda Pacific Coast and more recently a Piaggio 50cc scooter. I like the idea of something simpler than a large motorcycle, and I don’t really need to go fast anymore. That said the Silverwing is hardly the typical scooter. It’s 600cc engine has about 50 horsepower – more than enough to ride it on the highway.

GM—Allison Gas Turbine: Early Successes

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will tell the story of joining GM’s Allison Gas Turbine operation immediately after high school, the work I encountered there, and the early successes that helped launch my career.

My Travel Homes and Adventures

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Traveling for work made home a much larger territory. This page will collect the temporary places, familiar routes, and adventures that made much of the United States feel like an extended neighborhood.

Strength Training

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will cover what I have learned about building and maintaining useful strength—not for appearance, but for capability and independence.

Honda Pacific Coast

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

No, I’m not talking about a place, I’m talking about a motorcycle. Honda is one of the premier Motorcycle builders in the world and although I’ve owned many other brands of motorcycle over the years, I’ve always found Honda to be equal to or better than the others, no matter what the category.

Difficult Life Decisions

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will explore how to make consequential decisions when information is incomplete, tradeoffs are real, and certainty is unavailable.

Ford FPDS—Saving an Iconic Company

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will document my experience with Ford FPDS, the people and ideas involved, and the larger effort to save an iconic American company.

Maintaining Your Weight

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will collect my experience with managing weight, including the approaches that proved sustainable and those that worked better in theory than in ordinary life.

Retirement—Indian Harbour Beach, Florida

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will document the Indian Harbour Beach chapter: why the place fits retirement, how we make it home, and the life that grows around it.

Boeing ACPS and the 787

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will tell my part of the Boeing ACPS and 787 story: the setting, the problems being addressed, and what the experience taught me.

Homes I've Lived In and Grown Up In

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will trace the homes I grew up in and lived in, along with the people, stages of life, and memories that gave each address its meaning.

Vitamins and Supplements

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will examine the vitamins and supplements I have considered or used, the evidence behind them, and the difference between a plausible claim and a useful result.

My Bout with Achalasia

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will tell the story of my bout with achalasia: the symptoms, the search for an explanation, the treatment, and what I learned along the way.

Nashville, Indiana, and My Family's Old Homesteads

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will explore Nashville, Indiana, and the old homesteads of my family—the places where geography, family history, and the idea of home meet.

Newport News Shipbuilding and Aircraft Carriers

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will document my work with Newport News Shipbuilding, the scale and complexity of aircraft-carrier construction, and the lessons that came from the shipyard.

My Family's Ongoing Battle with Muscular Dystrophy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will document my family’s ongoing battle with muscular dystrophy and the practical lessons accumulated through years of diagnosis, caregiving, adaptation, and change.

Pinheads—The American Nightmare

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will tell the Pinheads story—what we intended to build, what actually happened, and why the experience became an American nightmare.

A Special Section on COVID-19

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will preserve my account of COVID-19: the events, decisions, uncertainty, changing evidence, and lessons worth carrying forward.

Centric—The Wrong Guy for the Job

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will examine my time at Centric, why I came to see myself as the wrong guy for the job, and the lessons that remained after the mismatch became clear.

Rebuilding an F-350 with a Rusted Frame

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Frame repair turns a truck project into structural work before the ordinary mechanical work can even begin.

Seaspan—Building a New Industry

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will tell the Seaspan story: the industrial challenge, the people and systems involved, and what it means to help build a new industry.

Rebuilding a Wrecked Polaris Ranger

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A wrecked Polaris Ranger is a collection of repairable systems, provided the damage is understood before the parts begin flying.

Rebuilding a Mini Skid Steer

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Small equipment packs full-sized mechanical and hydraulic problems into a very tight package.

1955 Chris-Craft Sedan Cruiser

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A wooden Chris-Craft is simultaneously a boat, a structure, a machine, and a piece of design history.

Tractors

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Three tractors from different eras and scales, each built around a different idea of durable, repairable work.

Getting a Sailboat Ready for Racing

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Racing preparation turns every neglected fitting and adjustment into something measurable on the water.

Honda Ridgeline Truck

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Ridgeline solves truck problems differently, which makes repairing and understanding it a project of its own.

BMW K1200 Motorcycle

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A sophisticated touring motorcycle brings together mechanical, electrical, braking, and bodywork problems in one compact machine.

My Dad's 1915 Underwood Typewriter

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

My dad’s 1915 Underwood makes every mechanical relationship visible—and every sticky pivot or bent linkage impossible to ignore.

Sewing Machines

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sewing machines are precision mechanisms meant to work hard, and good ones are usually worth repairing.

Sewing Projects

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Durable bags demand the same things as other fabrication projects: suitable materials, sound joints, good tools, and careful sequencing.

Forklifts & Scissor Lifts

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Industrial equipment often looks finished when one failed component is hiding inside an otherwise durable machine.

Tow Truck: Engine & Hydraulic Repair

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A tow truck must move itself and operate its working equipment; either system can turn the whole machine into dead weight.

Tire Repair & Replacement

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Tires are consumable, but deciding what can be repaired—and doing it safely—requires more judgment than simply replacing everything.

The Shop as a Tool

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The shop is not storage around a workbench. It is a machine for making every other project possible.

Fixing the Outboard on a Center Console Boat

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A center-console boat is only useful when its outboard works; this repair goes to the center of the engine.

About Eric

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I have spent most of my life making, repairing, restoring, and understanding things—vehicles, boats, machine tools, houses, computers, organizations, and whatever else seemed worth making work better.

I started working at General Motors the day after I graduated from high school. The career that followed took me through manufacturing, product development, consulting, and technology, and into companies and programs large enough that no one person could see the whole system. My most useful role was often the same one I play in a shop: understand how the pieces affect one another, find the real constraint, and help people make the whole thing work.

Collections and Old Things

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Some objects are useful, some are historical, and the best ones usually invite another project.

Homes, Shops, and Places

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Places are not just backdrops. They shape the projects, routines, tools, and people that gather there.

Shop, Fabrication, and Making

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The shop is not one project. It is the capability behind hundreds of them.

Technology and Systems

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Technology is another toolbench—useful when it is understood well enough to shape around the problem.

Choosing Your First Chainsaw

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I Modified My Packout Base for Easy Access

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My Milwaukee Packout Setup

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Fix Your Running Toilet and Four More Common Problems

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My EDC: What Works & What Doesn't

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

12 Handy Tools I Use All the Time

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Graham Cars

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The cars, restorations, family history, and memories attached to the Graham name.

Ladders for fixers

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

If you like to fix things like I do, then pretty soon you are going to find something that you would like to fix that is out of reach. You need a ladder. Or maybe you just need a couple steps. Or maybe you need a lot of steps. Ladders are essential for many kinds of jobs. Let me discuss with you some of the things I’ve learned about them over the years.

The essential tools of a DIYer

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a list of tools that every Do-it-yourselfer needs.

When you fix things, you need tools. I have a lot of tools. Many of them are very useful, for a fairly specific thing and don’t get used often. Some of them get rarely used.

Yellowstone 2021

Sat, 02 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Payoff

In late September 2021 Kathy and I traveled west ultimately to visit Yellowstone National Park. We traveled for a little over a week ( barely enough time). We visited 9 states, 3 National Parks (actually we entered a fourth one), and 3 national monuments. Here’s a sprinkling:

About

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

You might be an artist who would like to introduce yourself and your work here or maybe you’re a business with a mission to describe.

Blog

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Books

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Contact

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is a page with some basic contact information, such as an address and phone number. You might also try a plugin to add a contact form.

Links

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

My Interests

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is an example page. It’s different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this:

Travels and Adventures

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Yellowstone 2021

Moab 2020

Vancouver 2018

Welcome to my world:

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to my world

Me at work in 2018

Anything can be fixed if you use the right tools…

To Fix or not to Fix – the story of Parker and the Spotbot

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Parker, in a stationary moment

A few months ago, my wife retired, and I thought that getting her a new pet would be a good way for her to have some company at home – especially since I work in my shop a lot and also because I travel for work.

Moab 2020

Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In late May 2020, Kathy and I decided to road trip to Moab Utah and enjoy the spring weather there. This was the height of the initial phases of the Pandemic, and we didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out to be a great trip. We took my pickup truck and although it was a long 1500 mile drive, it was fairly pleasant. We stopped late the first night in Denver on a cold night to an empty Marriott.

Africation 2016

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Africation 2016 - In 2015, my sister Laure was working in Africa and talked about a trip she took to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. She said that she, Nick and Alex were going to go back there at spring break the next year so they could see them.

Ever since seeing the 1988 movie Gorillas in the Mist I wanted to see the mountain gorillas. So on the spot we decided to go with them. We called the adventure “Africation”. It turned out to be an epic trip of adventure and discovery. We learned about people and places and the terrible not so long ago history of the Rwandan genocide and how the country recovered from it.

And you can’t go to Africa without a safari, so we extended to another week in Tanzania - visiting one of the wonders of the world, Ngorogoro crater, and topping it all off with a few days in Serengeti National Park.

There are several pages of pictures:

Akagera National Park

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

We left Laure in Kigali to work and the rest of us went to Akagera in hopes of seeing what an African safari is all about. It was a long drive from the city, but we passed through many colorful villages along the way.

Kigali

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Our home base for the trip would be the Serena Hotel in Kigali, the capital city in Rwanda. Rwanda is a tiny landlocked country in Eastern Africa. It is surrounded by much larger countries: Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, and huge lake Victoria. We didn’t know what to expect - we knew Rwanda was the home of a terrible genocide in 1994 where almost 1 million people were killed in a terrible 6 weeks of violence.

Southern Rwanda

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Southern Rwanda and the Kings Village - The day after we arrived in Rwanda we traveled south through the countryside to see the way the people live. It’s very lush and green and mountainous, and the people live in small villages and farm the land around them by hand. We saw so many happy faces - kids going to school in uniforms - folks riding bikes up and down the mountains - people hauling water. After a few hours we went to a national history museum and visited the ancient king’s village - which included reproductions of the King’s hut and his first “palace”

The hillsides were covered with terraced farmland - most of the people seemed to work in the fields.

Yellowstone by Air 2011

Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Yellowstone 2011

Lots of pictures below - please be patient loading

Our Flying “road trip”

So our son Drew was finishing his first year of college at Indiana University and he decided to spend the summer with my brother Chris in Seattle Washington, rather than coming home.

Chicago 2008

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We went to Chicago for a long weekend at spring break in April 2008. We stayed at the Hyatt in downtown and had a really nice view from our window:

Cars, Trucks, and Old Iron

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Every vehicle carried a story: why it was bought, what it did well, what failed, and why it mattered.

Philadelphia and Niagara 2007

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000

On the banks of the Shenandoa River

The Cars I've Owned

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000

A chronological life history told through the vehicles that carried it.

Washington and New York

Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0000

In August of 2001 we took a family vacation to visit Aunt Laure, Uncle Ulrich and Cousin Alex in D.C.. In Washington we went to Mount Vernon, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (where they make paper money, among other things) and the falls of the Potomac. One highlight of the trip was a two day trip to New York City where we stayed at the Marriott Hotel next to the World Trade Center. The trip included a trip to the American History Museum, Central Park, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty. The weather was beautiful, and we topped it off with a trip to the top of the World Trade Center - The date was 8-18-01, just three weeks before the terrorist attacks.

Two Days Aboard USS Enterprise

Mon, 25 Sep 2000 00:00:00 +0000

The chance of a lifetime: two days aboard the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Kings Island 2000

Sun, 02 Jul 2000 00:00:00 +0000

On 7-2-00 we went to King’s Island

with Cousin Alex, Aunt Laure, Grandma Judy and Grandpa Art. We had lots of fun.

Lindsey and Audrey getting ready for the day:

Airplanes

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

I love to fly airplanes. I don’t get to do it enough. When I was young, my Dad and my uncle told stories of flying in the air force. They came from a family of flyers. Their older brother was a B-17 pilot in WWII and even their older sister was a WAC (Women’s Air Corps) in WWII. They were twin brothers and both were “radio operators” on cargo planes in the Korean War. I always thought that was funny, because they couldn’t find their way around the block without getting lost.

All About the Ride

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

All about the ride… On this page: [Why engine size doesn’t matter](#Engine size - It mostly doesn’t matter) [How to buy a motorcycle](#How to choose a motorcycle:) [Cruisers](#You want to cruise around town and on Short trips out of town, you want other people to see you and to show off a bit:) [Touring](#You want to take comfortable long distance tours on a motorcycle) [Adventure Bikes](#You want to ride around the world on an adventure) [Street bikes](#You wanna ride fast on the street) [Off Road](#You want to play off road)

Birthday Party — July 3, 2000

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

On 7-3-00 we had a grand birthday party for July kids, Alex’s first, Lindsey’s 6th and Drew’s 9th.

Here are some pictures:

Boating Links

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Boating ABC - My favorite boating message board. Lots of good basic and advanced boating info here - great people too. It’s moderated better than most message boards.

Boats

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

[Our Education](#Our Education) - A story about the first summer with our boat - full of surprises [Boating Costs](#Boating Costs:) - Some ballpark figures on how much it costs to go boating [Eric’s rules of boating](#Eric’s rules of boating:) - Just some things I’ve learned that may be helpful [Some new boating pictures](#Newer Boating Photos) - From 2007 [Older boating pictures](#Old Boating Photos) - 1998 to 2002 Boating Web Links Page

Books

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Not necessarily In order, here are some of my favorite books. The links will take you to Amazon, where you can read the reviews:

Atlas Shrugged - By Ayn Rand. It’s kind of a cult book. The most difficult reading I’ve ever done, but I liked it a lot. I recently saw a list of the most influential books. This book placed at the top of the list, along with the Bible.

Business Links

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Quicken.com - I use quicken to track all of my financial information. The site has lots of useful information as well
BizBuySell - A listing service for businesses for sale

Car Links

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Antique Car Links

Auburn, Cord, Duesenburg Museum - In Auburn, Indiana
Hemmings Motor News - Classified Ads, Links to Parts and much more
PrismaCars.com - Some very nice cars for sale

Congressional Art Competition

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

June 2011 - Lindsey was announced as winner of the US Congressional Art Competition.-

June 2012 - She won it again!

Our daughter Lindsey has always excelled at arts and crafts. This past year her high school art teacher asked her to take a painting class, and well, it turns out she’s pretty good at it In January she painted her first watercolor and it was good - but she decided to paint a second and try to win the Congressional Art Competition - well she succeeded.

Electronics and Computers

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

This page is old - 2010 or so.

We do a lot of computing out our house. Here’s what our network looks like:

The heart of the network is in our TV Cabinet. There we have Comcast Cable Service coming into a motorola Cable modem. The signal goes to our Linksys WRT54G Wireless G modem and then gets distributed through the house.

Favorite Links

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Business Links:

Motor Vehicle Links:

Boating Links

Motorcycling Links

Airplane Links

Fabrication Links

News Links

Miscellaneous Links

The Microsoft Network

Yahoo!

Hawaii 2006

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Hawaii

We went to Hawaii in January 2006 to see the whales, relax and have fun. We stayed at the Marriott Wailea on Maui, which was great.

One night we went to a Luau:

Interests

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

I have quite a few interests. Basically if it goes fast or makes a lot of noise, I’m into it:

I’ve always been into cars. I bought my first one at the age of fourteen, and I now own at least five. I’ve had them all, from junkyard dogs, to a Corvette and a Porsche. For the complete chronology (the good, bad and ugly) of Eric’s cars, click the cars link.

Jacksonville 2001

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

On the weekend of February 17th, 2001 we all went down to Jacksonville, Florida for a long weekend to attend the wedding of one of Kathy’s hometown friends. We had a hotel on the beach, and although it was cold and somewhat windy, we had a good time.

Lindsey's Home Page

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Hi, My Name is Lindsey, and this is my Home Page

Motorcycles

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Links:

I’ve owned several motorcycles over the years. My first taste was getting to ride on my uncle Joe’s Honda 350 when I was about six years old. I loved riding on it with him, and probably hounded him nearly to death for a ride every time we saw him. (More about this later) Shortly after that I bought a used minibike from a neighbor kid for $35 when I was about nine years old. It was pretty worn out when I bought it, but I learned to fix it and it ran pretty good for most of the time I owned it.

Photo Album

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

You’ll notice a big quality difference between the older pictures and the newer ones. Digital cameras have come a long way since this site was originally built.

Moab 2020 - Kathy and I drove to Moab, Utah during the 2020 pandemic

Raccoons

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

June 2011 Raccoon Babies…

Lindsey called me one day in the spring of 2011 and said “there’s a big animal screaming in the attic” - it’s hurt, and we have to save it. Well, we crawled up there - it was hotter than blazes and we found a little baby raccoon nearly dead of exhaustion almost passed out in the main part of the attic. She put it in a cage, and carried it downstairs and went to the pet store and got some pet milk and fed it through a syringe. (I could see this going bad quickly…, but Lindsey refuses to give up on any living thing) Then later that day Lindsey says, “there’s more - I heard them” - back to the attic we go. But we can’t get to them, because they are apparently in the wall behind one of the closets. The one we got first had apparently crawled out of the wall.. We get a pole with a basket on the end - we try everything - they are way down in the wall!

The Original EricRedifer.com Home Page

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Home

Welcome to my Web site! I originally started this web site in about 2001! Using the available software at the time for producing web pages, so it looks a little old. Eventually I will get it up to modern standards, but it will take awhile, and in the meantime I have a bunch of things to update. Over time I will make it better. The stories haven’t changed, and I’m constantly adding new ones, so explore and enjoy.

Tools

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Tools. I’m an engineer, and I love tools. That’s why I have a lot of them. I’m constantly on the lookout for better or interesting tools to use. And I do use them. I can build or fix anything, if you give me enough time- something I’m constantly short of - usually it even turns out pretty good when I do.

Tucson Dude Ranch

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Photos of our trip to Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson Arizona in July 2008

Tanque Verde Ranch is guest “dude ranch” located about 15 minutes outside of Tucson, Arizona in desert at the foot of the Rincon Mountains. We went for 6 days in July 2008 and had a great time. Tucson is hot in the summer, and surprisingly it was very rainy at the beginning of our stay, however, the place is absolutely stunning and the ranch is one of the best.

Vancouver 2018

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

It was a beautiful place to work and visit, and I had a great time, and met some really nice folks. In August, Kathy and the kids came out and we toured and hiked around the area. Here are some pictures:

Here’s the shipyard I worked in, I took this picture from a helicopter ride I took down to Vancouver Island. I worked most of the year in the gray office building below, which was brand new and really nice. The “Big Blue” crane in the background is actually quite large, and prominent in the North Vancouver skyline. In front of it is one of the Coast Guard Vessels under construction.

What Kind of Lid?

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

What kind of Lid ? [What Kind of Motorcycle Helmet Should I buy?](#What Kind of Motorcycle Helmet Should I buy?) [What should I look for in a helmet?](#What should I look for in a helmet?) [Should I pay for an expensive helmet?](#Should I pay for an expensive helmet?) [Yeah, but will a helmet really save me? I heard they might dangerous to wear.](#Yeah, but will a helmet really save me? I heard they might dangerous to wear)

Boating — Our Education on the Water

Thu, 01 Apr 1999 00:00:00 +0000

The Redifers bought a boat before they knew boating. The education began immediately.

3D Printing

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Digital models become fixtures, prototypes, repairs, and objects that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

AI & Computers

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Computing has moved from hardware and home networks into systems that help preserve context, explore ideas, and make things.

Art

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A place for the artwork, artists, displays, and stories that belong in the collection.

Collections & Hobbies

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Objects, skills, and interests accumulated because each one opens a different door.

Health

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Health, maintenance, adaptation, and what experience has taught me about the one machine I cannot replace.

Homes & Places

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Geist Lake, Lake Monroe, Florida, work-travel homes, family homesteads, and the question of what makes a place feel like home.

How This Site Works

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A plain-English look under the hood of this archive.

Metalwork & Fabrication

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Metalwork turns an idea, a repair, or a missing part into something tangible and durable.

Off-roading

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The machines, preparation, routes, and experiences that make off-road travel its own kind of project.

Reading & Books

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A growing shelf of books and the useful ideas, arguments, and stories found inside them.

Sewing

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sewing is another form of fabrication—different materials and machines, but the same habit of making what is needed.

Shop & Tools

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Shops, machines, hand tools, storage systems, and the judgment accumulated by using them.

The Shop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will document the shop as it changes: the machines, layout, storage, and capabilities that support the work.

The Warehouse

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This page will document the warehouse, its contents, and how the space supports work too large for the home shop.

Trains

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Trains combine collecting, mechanics, electrical systems, history, and the pleasure of building a world in miniature.

Travel

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Journeys by road, rail, air, and sea—nearby weekends as well as trips around the world.

Wheels, Wings & Water

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The machines that moved me—and the work, judgment, and stories each one carried.

Work Stories

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

From General Motors to Amazon, with a few more companies and adventures in between.