Went to the junkyard, but all the Mercedes cars they had were either the wrong vintage or the wrong engine type. That's okay, it was worth a shot and I have other potential parts sources ( Read more... )

The 1988 Cabriolet continues to run okay, but not great. It still doesn't start quite as easily as the '89, and it has a slight hesitation coming off idle sometimes, especially when cold. Fuel economy also seems slightly sub-par. The fuel mixture and ignition timing seem OK. I'm starting to wonder about the cam timing; I may pull the upper ( Read more... )

Every so often you encounter a caution notice that you know had to be the result of someone's unfortunate experience. Today's example, from a station wagon owner's manual:Note: Lock tailgate prior to washing the vehicle in an automatic car wash. The washing brush could otherwise cause it to open.

The Washington state legislature has passed a law that will recognize domestic partnerships from other states as valid in Washington. It's sad that this has to be done on a state-by-state basis (really, it ought to be covered by the "full faith and credit" clause of the Constitution) but it's still progress ( Read more... )

This blog post by Neil Gaiman was cited by barberio in a friend's LJ comment thread. It's so well written, and addresses a situation I've seen so many times, that I wanted to pass it on. (The first bit of the post is unrelated; scroll down to the boldface text to get to the good stuff.)

EDIT: Fixed the link, which I originally pasted from the wrong tab.

With the nice weather today, I was inspired to tackle the sagging passenger side door on the '88 Cabriolet. I was tired of having to slam it to get it to latch; nothing makes a car feel like an old heap quite like doors that don't work right ( Read more... )

It must be noted that VW Cabriolets do not get exceptional fuel economy. They have appalling aerodynamics, short gearing, and rather primitive fuel injection systems. Here's my average from the '89 5-speed:

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Consumer Reports did a 2D plot of reliability and road test scores:

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Nuclear power: Still not economically viable without subsidies.The report evaluates legacy subsidies that helped build the industry, ongoing support to existing reactors, and subsidies available for new projects. According to the report, legacy subsidies exceeded 7 cents per kilowatt-hour (¢/kWh), well above the average wholesale price of power ( Read more... )

This pretty much sums up everything I find frustrating about U.S. politics:When conservatives blow up our fiscal position with their tax cuts, the deficit hawks are silent - or, at best, mumble a few words of mild reproach to have something on the record - and let the budget wreckage happen. Quite a few in their ranks (yes, including some Democrats ( Read more... )