Recent content by ecotourist

An object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by some force. For the earth to be speeding up there would have to be some force causing the rotational speed to increase. And I don't know of any such force. The evidence is that the earth's rotation is very very very slightly slowing...

Looks like that shop doesn't want your business.

There is no point in operating and getting a surgical site infected. Clear up that infection first. Your doc is a very smart guy. Getting rid of problems can be a step by step process.

If traffic has been piling up behind you, it could be that other drivers see this as a chance to get in front of you. That's perfectly logical in my opinion.

One of my school friends failed his first driver's test at age 16 because he was too cautious and driving too slow. So it's not just the elderly. In British Columbia there are driver's tests starting at age 80. One of the reasons for failing the test is driving too slow. If you've lost the...

Even better, you should drive the same speed as the rest of the traffic. If lots of people are piling up behind you or passing you, you're driving too slow.

Assuming you aren't trolling us, my advice is to regularly drive at or very near the speed limit. Slow driving is irritating to many people and people having to pass someone who is holding up traffic actually causes some danger to themself and others. On "Canada's Worst Drivers" some years...

Our heir will primarily be our daughter. We have some very fine, very expensive furniture, some old and significant antique pieces, and some attractive modern junk. We also have a lot of "smalls", some of which have come down from our ancestors. These are things that should be passed on to...

My 2007 Honda Accord has 2 fully functioning key fobs. They both failed but using heavy duty tools I was able to loosen a tiny screw and open them up and replace the batteries. They're working just fine again. The original batteries lasted about 15 years so no complaints there. But the gorilla...

I don't know of any automatic read out system that can tell you the quality of motor oil. Some of us like to pull the dipstick to see how dark the oil is, to check for metallic bits, milky substances or excessive fuel odour. If you've paid someone to change your oil, with a dash read out you...

I thought of doing it once. The "change oil" light was on from the start. The rental was only a few days so I put up with the light. When I took it back I told the girl behind the counter. "No", she said, "it doesn't need an oil change. I checked the dip stick myself and it has plenty of oil."...

Remember when anything made in Japan was crap? Over the years my family has had a few decorative items "made in occupied Japan". Not great quality. When Japanese cars first arrived in Canada (Honda products, about 1968), Japanese stuff had come off its "going to be bad" reputation but still...

But new old stock (NOS) might be better.

My Volvo specialist in Winnipeg replaced the water pump on my Volvo with aftermarket parts at least twice (maybe 3 times) over a period of 6 years. When I got back to Edmonton and the water pump failed again, my Volvo specialist there said the problem was using aftermarket parts. He replaced it...

I keep a spread sheet on maintenance on every car I ever own, so closer to proactive. The spread sheet also states my best information on service intervals. Which is why I'm asking. In my younger days I was very proactive, but I've loosened up a bit. I suspect I wasted money and effort...