Entries tagged as ‘automotive’
I was at a meeting recently where someone stood up and said, “Fall is here, so please remember not to drive through piles of leaves along the road. There could be children playing in them.”
I’ve heard that a hundred times, and a hundred times it sounded like something that grew out of urban legends. On the flip side, we were told as kids not to play in the leaves near the street for the same reason. As usual, this drove me to the internet. Low and behold, SNOPES.COM does not dismiss the warning as a myth, but cites several horrible accidents as proof that playing in the leaves can have deadly consequences.
But there’s a more pressing reason you shouldn’t play in the leaves, particularly not the leaves piled on the street in front of my house. That’s because they are filled with dog poop. Those are the leaves I raked from the backyard over the weekend, and while we try to stay one step ahead of the dogs, it’s tough in the fall. The problem? Their droppings are camouflaged by nature’s colorful bounty. That sounds very poetic until you stroll through the leaves, or worse yet, you spend three hours raking them up. Then nature’s colorful bounty is a stinky, disgusting mess.
So, don’t play in the leaves and don’t drive through the leaves, and for Gods’ sake, wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident.
Categories: Kids · Modern Living
Tagged: automotive, current events, dogs, wisdom
There’s no doubt about it, Vermont is a fascinating and exotic place. Drive up Route 7 and it’s like you’re crossing into a different country. For example:
1. Gun laws. In Vermont they’re virtually non-existent. They require no permits or registration and you can pretty much buy as many as you want. And in Vermont you can carry a concealed handgun as long as you don’t do so in a school or government building.
2. Vermont’s civil union law. You want to spend your life with someone of the same sex, go right ahead, it’s Vermont. Sure, the federal government still withholds certain benefits, but you can thank Bill Clinton for that.
3. Cheaper gas. That photo was taken on Sunday, May 26 after I filled my tank at the Hemmings service station in Bennington. Actually, since it’s full service, I sat in the car while someone else did the work. It felt like 1979. If I’d said a year ago that $3.89 was cheap, you’d have thought I needed my head examined.
Guns for everybody, same sex unions, cheap gas. Throw in a case of beer and you’ve got yourself a party.
Categories: Modern Living
Tagged: automotive, travel
Nothing’s more satisfying than handing someone a pile of cash to do something you could yourself with the right tools. And a hydraulic lift. And maybe a class at HVCC. But after a $500 brake job, you don’t expect to hear a grating noise when your car is backing up. And I did.
SCRAPE-SCRAPE-SCRAPE! What the f…? That can’t be right. Not after my $500 BRAKE JOB! I pull out of the parking space and there it is again. SCRAPETY-SCRAPETY-SCRAPE. Now I’m furious —and getting ready to drive up (street name deleted) and march right into (repair shop deleted) to give those crooks a piece of my mind. A typical guy reaction at this point is to think, “Hmmmm. Maybe I can fix this myself.” Since ancient times this has been the undoing of many fine men, but I stuck my head under the fender and inspected the place where the wheel is connected to the that other thing. Nothing. I dropped to my belly and edged under the car. Well, that’s your problem right there. I reached way back and yanked out a branch that had stuck to the undercarriage. The rest of the afternoon? I basked in the smug satisfaction of my manly trifecta: smart, handy, and thrifty.
Categories: Modern Living
Tagged: automotive, cars, diy, fixing things
Mechanical engineering students at RPI have abandoned development of a car that runs on maple syrup. This comes after word from the Vermont Maple Association that syrup prices have topped $40 a gallon. A spokesman for the association attributed the increased price to rising fuel and labor costs. (more…)
Categories: Modern Living · News
Tagged: alternative fuels, automotive, current events, maple syrup
