motoring news

My Haynes Manual arrived this morning. If you've never seen one, the Haynes Manual is the DIY Mechanic's bible, the writing of which is based on performing each operation described in the manual and taking photos along the way. For some reason, when I first got the car I couldn't find any sign of a version for my own car (1999 Nissan Almera S Petrol, pre-restyling) which came as something of a surprise to me since for every car we've ever had in the family - including my brother's collection of Ford Escorts and Peugeot 205s - we've had a corresponding Haynes Manual.

Anyway, now that I have it, I am greatly relieved to discover that the bit of work on the car that I've been putting off may not be as costly a job as I'd first thought. The job in question is adjustment and/or replacement of the timing chain; according to the manual, it can be done with the engine in situ, which cuts the potential cost of the job WAY down. Of course, it may be difficult to find a garage that agrees with the manual on this topic, in which case I'll have to source a new timing chain myself and then make use of my brother's toolkit, garage, and in-depth car know-how.

it's like Monty Python meets the Farrelly Brothers

After the throat infection comes... THE RIVERS OF SNOT!

*uck*

an open letter to the spiders in my house

Dear Spiders,

I am not the arachnophobe I was when I was younger. However. While I am quite happy to tolerate your living in the house, walking up the walls, sitting on the carpet in full view, etc., I draw the line at you scurrying across my chest as I'm lying in bed reading. Consider this your only warning.

Yours, Waider.

David Crosby on the Music Industry

Good interview on pbs.org with David Crosby, largely covering what he thinks about the music industry.

I think it's going in a tank, and I am standing on the sidelines applauding.

stick that in your SUV...

On this week's Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson drove the brand new Audi A8 from London to Edinburgh and back... on a single tank of fuel. Average consumption was somewhere just over 40MPG. The catch is that it's a diesel engine; however, being an Audi, it's a twin-turbo V8. So it'll go pretty quickly if you want to play boy racer instead of rainbow warrior.

(engine specifics open to correction by eejital_muppet, since the Top Gear website has very little actual information on it)

Other fun features on the show: racing the Ford SportKa - which you'll have seen in that "We Didn't Do It!" viral marketing advert where the cat gets decaptiated by the sunroof - against racing pigeons, and losing; and playing "darts" with some old cars, a pneumatic ram, a quarry and, uh, a caravan. Jeremy says it's the 19th caravan they've destroyed on the show this season.