Hi. Are You Busy?

I am.

Let's see. I recently completed my first-ever transverse-mount clutch job. It's no small feat to remove a transmission that was fitted into an engine compartment sideways. The shop manual suggests eight hours for the job. I didn't have every single tool I needed, so it took longer, what with locating and borrowing all the bits.

I've been a knuckle-basher mechanic for well over a decade, and every time I do a job I learn something new. In this case it was "The manual has never been updated". The manual for this car and the job at hand had a section called "updates for post-1981 vehicles". But it did nowhere mention that the assembly that in 1980 required merely the removal of two bolts to disassemble now requires a big hammer and the use of a "pickle fork" to take apart.

Which is the problem with manuals anyway. The latest set of instructions is never quite up-to-date until the item has been out of production a few years (see: Micrososft, Ford, GM, Procter-Gamble and their new partner, Gillette).

Who says blogging never gets you anywhere? I just (keeping fingers tightly crossed until the contract is signed) picked up a contract doing some work for BLive, supervising and editing their company blog. I'm excited and terrified all at once. I mean, here I can just scribble down whatever pops into my head, not quite so at work. Although the boss has assured me that my tone and writing style are just what the place needs. Oh I hope so!

Oh--seen the news? Another Canadian heritage company has bit the big one. If it's any consolation, their partner has been haemorraging market share as well. But I can't help wondering what they'll use for a new slogan: "I WAS Canadian"?

The new 'glomerate will be 55% Molson-owned, but run from Colorado. Note to the Coors people: You should finally be able to learn how to brew a reasonable keg of panther sweat. Coors generally, but Coors Light doubled and redoubled in spades, is prarie dog urine; Thin and fizzy, it must be served ice cold so as to numb the taste buds before they actually get a sample of the flavour. Molson Canadian is the Canuck equivalent, it's the draught beer available everywhere. But it has a lot more body and taste.

The encroachment of American ethos into Canada is an old trend. But lately the pace of the cultural piracy has speeded up. Flagship moments include the day this outfit was allowed in.

Here's a really scary thing. Not only have we decided to copy prejudicial law enforcement practices, we picked the worst possible state to copy. In fact, profiling is illegal even in Texas! If stopped in Canada by a man with a Texas accent, I will presume he's a foreign carjacker in a fake uniform and run him over.

Lastly, a dose of divisive political rhetoric. Harper only had to keep his mouth shut to let Paul Martin dig his own hole, but of course he had to bring up the illogical "slippery slope" argument. The party formerly known as Conservative is sliding into divisiveness in the Washington mode.

There are a few good reasons to oppose polygamy, but they're nothing to do with same-sex marriage. Oh--and same-sex marriages are already in existence even in the USA.

What do you think? More.

The US seems to be undergoing one of those difficult periods that precedes great and striking (and hopefully positive) social change. I hold out hope that sanity will win out. Canada can avoid the major conflicts by legislating gay marriage and decriminalizing pot now.