Tag: Automotive

For the umpteenth time: it’s not the object that’s the problem, it’s the person using it!

How many times have we tried to explain that a tool – like a gun, or a knife, or a hammer, or a motor vehicle, or whatever – is not to blame for its misuse?  It has no moral volition of its own, no ability to choose.  Those reside in the person using – or… Continue reading For the umpteenth time: it’s not the object that’s the problem, it’s the person using it!

Vignettes from Wichita Falls this morning

I drove into our nearby “big city”, Wichita Falls, this morning to do some shopping and fill my vehicle with gasoline.  I took the opportunity to speak with folks I know there.  This is what they told me. Sams Club has been overrun with anxious shoppers buying everything they can get their hands on.  This… Continue reading Vignettes from Wichita Falls this morning

The damage road brine causes to your car

I’m obliged to Eric Peters for reminding us about the damage that road brine does to our vehicles. Last week, there was a rumor of snow. The possibility – 60 percent chance – of “up to an inch” that never materialized resulted in a hosing down of every road with a salty brine carried by… Continue reading The damage road brine causes to your car

Double “Heh!” – automotive edition

Yesterday both of these photographs were sent to me by readers.  I don’t know their origin, but they made me laugh. First, Toyota’s mid-size SUV is visually linked to a famous movie (click the image for a larger view): Next, modern motoring leads to a new musical conundrum: As long as the truck doesn’t have… Continue reading Double “Heh!” – automotive edition

Coronavirus: preparing for the economic impact

I had an interesting discussion yesterday with a friend who’s a senior buyer for a national hardware store chain (a big one).  He told me frankly he doesn’t know whether he’ll have a job in six months’ time, because the impact of the coronavirus epidemic in China may scupper his company.  It sources a very… Continue reading Coronavirus: preparing for the economic impact

He’s going to need more than a defroster . . .

Being from Alaska, Miss D. gets more than a little angry when she sees people driving around in cars from which they’ve not swept the snow and ice, so that it flies off at speed and hits the vehicles around them.  Apparently, in the frozen north, the cops ticket drivers who do that – which… Continue reading He’s going to need more than a defroster . . .

Feet on the dashboard = pelvis in pieces

I’ve seen many passengers in cars, light trucks or SUV’s – almost always women in my experience – put their feet up on top of the dashboard, lean back in their seats, and drive along like that.  I’ve always regarded it as extremely dangerous, because in the event of an accident, they won’t be able… Continue reading Feet on the dashboard = pelvis in pieces