"I thought the funky side mirrors were novel. I wonder if they will survive US NHTSA and DOT? I read that this capability (Title: Drivers' Use of Camera-Based Rear Visibility Systems Versus Traditional Mirrors) is under review: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/03/14/2022-05237/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-for"
"Electric is a great solution for commuting right now. However, it really complicates things on a long road trip. At least up in Canada where the distances are long and the availability of charge stations, spotty. Maybe VW took this into consideration?"
"To my eyes, it seems that the bent bollard broke free of the original upper support arms and what we see is a now is a new (and longer) arm welded in place. The arm is longer to accommodate the bend. Otherwise the original bollard was poorly installed in the first place because it would have been horribly out of vertical. I can almost see the remains of something behind the arm.Just make it easier to replace busted parts would be my approach. Cut, weld, paint. Besides, it gives the place some character ..."
"I think it has more utility for wine (see photo with dark stained table) where you may want the bottle to stay upright, you may want to view the selection, and you may be doing more sampling. A situation where the wine is the centre of things and the food is quite secondary."
"Canada seems to be unified with only the "Elgins". At least what I have seen to date. Not all is uniform in dairyland though. Bagged milk is quite rare in Manitoba and points west, seemingly an Eastern Canada presence only."
"I was fortunate enough to be gifted an ECE plane from some co-workers as a going away present. This was in the late '80s. It is a favourite of mine. I also have a few Japanese 'kanna', some made from blades I purchased in Japan. These have the thick and long wood bases are admittedly a lot heavier than the ECE. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be difficult to switch from the 'push' to the 'pull' stroke so I continue to use all my planes. Perhaps because the same issue is there for Japanese vs. European saws. In this case, the Japanese saws are the lightweights."
"And then there is the more ubiquitous and sadly inferior (from a wood working perspective) Luan or Philippine mahogany. It is also will be interesting to see if any supply of so called Cuban mahogany emerges as the Cuban embargo is lifted. I believe it is more closely related to the coveted Honduran has similar characteristics as a material for fine woodwork."
"My old Smart car has an automatic clutch paired to a similar +/- shifter, with the important exception that R (this is a mechanical gear transmission) is off to the side. This provides the obviously needed separation between forward and reverse! Since you can only remove the ignition key by placing the transmission in R. It acts somewhat like a P(ark) function. "