Automotive

As I blogged about earlier, a few weeks ago I ended up driving the RAV4 through an unexpected flock of low-flying geese. I ended up taking out two of them, and they ended up taking out the RAV's grill and the left headlight. The bodyshop guy guessed it would cost at least $1000 to fix. Well, we just got the RAV back from the body shop, and it turned out to cost a lot more than … [Read more...] about When Geese Attack: The Butcher’s Bill

After last week's goose strike incident, we dropped off the Toyota RAV4 at the body shop and settled in to use our 14-year-old Dodge Neon. That lasted until Wednesday when, while driving my wife home from work, I noticed a sharp burning smell in the passenger cabin. It wasn't an odor I recognized. It wasn't just overheated engine coolant (I'm familiar with that smell) or … [Read more...] about More Minor Automotive Adventures

Remember a few days ago when I mentioned that someone broke the driver's side window on our old Dodge Neon? Well, the very next day I was driving my wife to work in our Toyota RAV4. We were in Arlington Heights, and as I turned off the main road, we passed a grassy area where some of the local geese were hanging out. The geese are there all the time, and my wife has probably … [Read more...] about When Geese Attack

One of these days I'll produce a video with some substantive content. But in the meantime, I'm just fooling around with the camera and editing software, trying to learn a thing or two about making videos. This is me trying to teach myself how to use edited video to tell a story. A pointless story, to be sure, but fortunately also a very short story. … [Read more...] about A Short Film About Owning an SUV

[Update: It occurs to me that journalistic ethics require me to explicitly point out that the front license plate has been photoshopped in.] My wife and I bought a brand new Toyota RAV4 in February, and we just hit the 5000 mile mark, so I thought I'd post a bit about our experience, in case anyone is thinking of buying one. The short answer is that the 2008 Toyora RAV4 is … [Read more...] about RAV4 Blogging – 5000 Miles Behind the Wheel