Thursday, February 23, 2006

Metric meddlers make more mischief

How to waste more taxpayers money is outlined in The Times. Funny how I get by using Imperial measurements. Now the wretched Olympics are being used as an excuse to destroy more of our heritage. These self-hating politicians respect everybody's diversity but their own. Bad luck to them.

What will they think of next?

Some bright spark has come up with the idea of a Glasgow-Edinburgh Bullet train. They aim to provide a 15-20 minute service making the two cities, in the jargon, one 'cities region.'
The Shinkansen Bullet train in Japan was introduced in 1964.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Fit for purpose

Honda may be planning a hybrid version of the Fit compact car.

Monday, February 20, 2006

The sky is falling

William Rees-Mogg, veteran UK journalist, tackles the depressing subject of the decline of General Motors and Detroit in The Times.
Meanwhile here is a piece on how the US manufacturers were late to the hybrid party.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Urban runabout

Owen Shaw spotted this 1960 Cadillac Eldorado on King Street East in Toronto.

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Thursday, February 09, 2006

Brave but barking

I've always said that motorcycle racers make the car guys look sane. The Telegraph has a piece on the Northwest 200. See for yourself.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

smart rattle

To smart Centre Mississauga to get my rattling back window fixed. Top marks to Edward Garcia, smart Specialist, for fixing me up with a loaner while they work on the problem.

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Monday, February 06, 2006

Bringing 'em back alive



I am a sucker for old cars so later on Sunday I went to have a look at a couple of old-timers in the resto shop. On the left is an old Beetle beach buggy shortly to see the streets again with a 1600cc mill, and a '56 Chevy looking forward to a crate motor and Camaro driveline in time for the summer.

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Speedorama

To the Canadian National Exhibition Centre in Toronto on Sunday for the Speedorama car show. Normal admission price $18 per head but we had a coupon giving entry for two at $15. We parked for free - you had to cross the street - a further saving of $10. Deal! There were about 200 cars on display and here are the best of the pics.



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Friday, February 03, 2006

Libraries fear digital lockdown

The BBC raises interesting questions about access to information. I'm struggling to access sources in archives and university libraries that are not easily available to members of the public. The barriers are either I'm not affiliated to an institution; they will not supply sources via inter-library loan or I have to travel great distances to visit on-site. The tradition of academic freedom and access to information is eroded by practical problems. I guess these barriers have always been there but the internet has the potential to eliminate them. BTW I'm studying history, not a subject likely to require secrecy.

Last telegram in USA. Stop.

The last batch of telegrams has been sent in the USA. The Times has the story here.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Kodak's digital makeover

I keep an eye on Kodak as they go through a wrenching restructuring due to the advent of digital photography. Also because their headquarters is across Lake Ontario in Rochester, New York. Business Week has the story.