I'd been hearing a tapping from the engine that, in a VW I would have said was lifters; not being an experienced mechanic on American engines, I stayed in Wisconsin an extra day to get it checked out.

Back on the road with a clean bill of health for the truck, but with it still not sounding right, the tapping became a grinding, and a great plume of smoke was belched into the cab as a rod shot through the crankcase. Pop goes the engine, and six quarts of oil spill through the newly minted hole in it and onto the pavement.

Rick asked me earlier if I shot any video - I'm afraid my media instincts were subsumed by my "is this thing on fire?!" instincts...

The tale is not over...I've spent the morning tracking down some folks who will install a rebuilt engine in it for a reasonable price. But since I'm flying out of the country on Tuesday, there's no way the timing works out. Luckily, I'm doing some consulting in the midwest in the middle of October (yes, you can buy NetBeans Platform consulting from Sun, and that usually means you get me - if you're interested, send me an email). So I'm catching a flight to the east coast this afternoon, and the NetBeansMobile will resume its journey in about a month.

The downtime has finally given me some time to work on one very cool feature I hope to get into NetBeans 6 even at this late date.

All in all it's been a great adventure! And Rick really did spring for pizza and beverages for the folks I've met along the way - all hail Rick!