I recently got a Charger with less than 10k kms on the clock as a rental. The interior and driving dynamics have definitely improved but the automatic transmission shifted so hard when cold (cold being a warm summer morning) that I’d still never consider one. I’m sure it even missed a gear completely when I was…

Man, I haven’t seen that video in ages. Whenever I make reference to that video everybody looks at me like I’m crazy but I never know how to find it on Youtube.

But this $650 increase is just tariffs. It’s literally just a tax that governments collect when certain goods cross over the border. In that context, would you be happy if the invoice for your car showed an extra $250 U.S. sales tax as well as a $200 Canadian and $200 Mexican sales tax? No extra labor has been created…

They tried that in my city as well. After 9/11 they removed the heavy concrete trash cans because they could be used to hide a bomb and might become extra shrapnel in an explosion. Now we just have clear garbage bags suspended in metal hoops, I guess with the idea that people will see a suspicious package before it…

To copy Hong Kong’s MTR system, New York state would need to give free land to the MTA and allow them to develop those lands into profitable real estate properties. The MTR is more of a property development firm that happens to run trains than it is a dedicated mass transit system.

When I was considering a motorcycle, the only American brand that stood out for a decent starter bike was Buell. If I had gone down that route and enjoyed the bike, I could see upgrading to a Sportster when I was ready for something bigger since Buells used a custom HD engine. Instead of nurturing those future…

That actually doesn’t sound like a horrible idea. It would require a lot of gearing to turn the motion of the spring into usable motive energy but it wouldn’t require many rare earth minerals and could be ‘recharged’ relatively quickly.

I’m sure another author could make this story and setting an allegory about drug addiction, where people barely take care of their real needs to spend more time hooked up to the virtual world. Instead Cline gave us a story about how Space Invaders and Pac Man were pretty cool games. Still fun for the nostalgia trip,…

Ready Player One was at least fun but it was never going to win any literary awards. If you really want to experience maximum Mary Sue-ism, read Armada. That one was hard to finish.

I can’t get over the fire hazard. There’s a huge crowd because there’s already been a fire, so everybody responds by clogging platforms and hallways so tightly that there would be no conceivable way for anybody to exit if another fire broke out. Whenever I encounter a crowd like that I start making my way to the…

I think it’s more likely he just doesn’t think to invest in a hitch lock or store the trailer in a secure facility. An unsecured ‘toy’ trailer like that, especially without any branding or distinguishing features, looks like a buffet for thieves. They’re nearly guaranteed to find something worthwhile inside so all…

Man, Type C takes up a whole lot of real estate for an at-grade turn, and I have no idea what justifies a Type A. At a normal left turn cars should be able to exit the intersection unless the road is gridlocked, but with a Type A jughandle left turns will be blocked once a few cars are stopped at the red light, and…

All these articles complaining about the lack of maintenance on the MTA and the solution is so simple.

A knife doesn’t care whether it’s being wielded by a 300 lb knife-fighting expert or a 50 lb child. The blade will cut regardless. Nobody should ever engage in hand-to-hand combat with a knife wielding opponent and expect to come out unharmed unless they are decked-out head to toe in chainmail and plate armor. Do you…

The panic excuse might work if the kick happened as the lane change was occurring. This was minutes after the incident and was merely a verbal argument when the motorcyclist decided to attack the driver’s car. The motorcyclist could have just touched the brakes and left that altercation at any point but chose to…

Time to bring back the Boys anti-tank rifle!

If I understand APS correctly, it would only be effective in shooting down explosive weapons. Kinetic weapons shouldn’t be affected unless the APS system puts out enough material to deflect the shell. The tank would be less susceptible to missiles and infantry fired rockets, but this armor wouldn’t affect its…

That attack was a decision by the motorcyclist and as such I appoint all blame to him. The car wasn’t actively trying to harm him (swerving, brake checking, etc.) prior to his attacking the car, so all he had to do was back off the throttle slightly and remain in his lane and none of this would’ve happened. The…

LMP1 is fun to have around for moments like this, but overall I agree that it’s not a sustainable class. The cars cost as much to develop and race as a mid-pack F1 team, but the series lacks the prestige of F1 (despite being better in terms of racing imo). I do love seeing the prototypes out on the track because…

The lede image bothers me. What’s the point of welding a rebar windscreen and hand guards onto a motorcycle aside from the rule-of-cool? If they were created pre-outbreak, they’re not providing any protection from the elements or any aerodynamic benefits, but if they were created post-outbreak they’re so small it…