I owned a 2000 VW New Beetle 2.0 5s. And in that color, incidentally. I bought it for $3,000 in 20012, and drove it for four years. It had some problems, but it was by no means the worst car I’ve ever owned, and it was cheap. Rust was a non-problem, with all the plastic on that thing. It had acceptable acceleration.

“Arrogant.” Interesting word choice. Almost entirely wrong, but interesting.

I love books. But I have two problems with them.

I bought a used Honda Fit with a bad Takata inflator last year; I called a couple of dealers, one of whom said “yeah, we’ll let you know when the parts are in.” The other offered to store my car and give me a loaner until the parts arrived. I ultimately (perhaps foolishly) decided to continue driving the car, and then…

Well, they always try to eat the pen, so there’s that.

Ah, yes, the convert story. “I [burned/threw out] my [guitar/CDs/DVDs/VHS collection] when I realized the Truth.” This is part of the classical conversion narrative—I was so bad before but now I’m saved. You can see it in any group where conversion is a big way in—LDS, protestant, vegan, atheist (yes, the atheists who…

Some pumps die quickly, some don’t. In the early ‘90s, I had a ‘77 Audi Fox with a malfunctioning fuel gauge, and a family member ran it dry (standard procedure was to fill the tank after a certain travel distance, but this was forgotten by the nameless individual). I mean, the car sputtered and died and we drifted to…

I have sat in LDS testimony meetings where nobody stopped a member from speaking at length about the problems and health of his colon. I have heard the “there was a disaster and lots of people died, but God saved the missionaries” talk many times—the talk that suggests the lives of missionaries are somehow more sacred…

I disagree. Church is precisely the place for this. I’m pretty sure that any god is more concerned with kindness than with our naughty bits.

Don’t especially care. I learned to drive in a car that had everything on the dash, save the high beam switch which was, of course, on the floor. Not long ago I had a VW with the light switch on the dash; now I have a Honda with the switch on the stalk. Once you’re used to it, it makes no difference.

Road rage against pedestrians and cyclists is not at all uncommon. But (in my opinion) more is needed here to establish that this was road rage, particularly in light of the other circumstances.

Yes. And I was guilty of the same sort one thing when I was 18 or so...

I am a 59-year-old man who for most of his life has bicycled (or bused) to work, who recycles, who carries his lunch in reuseable containers, and who switched to LED lighting as soon as it became available. My car gets 40 MPG, and I furnish as much of my home and office with used and repurposed stuff as…

This was my response as well. After all, the UK has never had “troubles” before.

I blame Bush I (“L-word”!) but even more, Dinesh D’Souza, who managed, somehow, through hearing the term “politically correct,” to paint everyone to the left of Attila the Hun as a Stalinist. See, e.g.,

That’s New Haven; there are a number of co-working spaces (and--seeARealCad’s spreadsheet--the Institute Library). Not everything is perfect, but I like being able to get out of my house to work.

How much it costs depends on what you want and where you live. I pay $75/month for an open desk...$150/month would give me one where I could keep my stuff, but since my stuff keeps changing, $75 does just fine. Coffee’s good, too.

Ironic, considering where that “shoe on podium” moment comes from...

Yes; the Walker’s response is a classic non-apology (“I’m sorry I didn’t realize you’d feel that way” is not “I’m sorry that I did this”). They need to learn to do better, and to take responsibility when they make an error.

A little tune called The Rebel Jesus. Worth a listen.