It was a glorious day today and I decided to go for a nice, long walk. As I passed a neighbourhood car service centre, a large sign over the one service bay they had read "Free Courtesy Check". I chuckled as I wondered to myself what they would call a courtesy check that they charged you for.
About half way through my walk, as I approached a beer store, how could I not think of enjoying a delicious, cold beer on this very warm day when my brisk walking has made it a very hot day. I paused for a moment to weigh the fact that I would have to carry the beer all the way home, almost a mile away. It took two seconds for me to start toward the entrance.
Funny how advertising really does work. Lately, there's been a constant barrage of Corona TV commercials and I settled on picking up a six pack. No sooner was I out of the beer store when I regretted my choice. You see, Corona do not have twist-off caps and as I trudged along, I longed to pull out a beer and discreetly consume it as I made my way home while I gently sweat.
The next thing that entered my mind was that all this refreshing beverage I was carrying was going to make me warmer than I already was. I pondered...the faster I walk, the sooner I'll get home, the less warm the beer will get, the less time it will need in the fridge before I can enjoy one. Of course, walking so fast will make me much warmer than I already was.
At about this time, I thought what a great problem for physics students to solve: You're carrying a case of beer that weighs 7 pounds. The temperature of the beer is 40 degrees. You're 1 mile from home and the temperature is 80 degrees. What is the optimum speed for you to walk in order to balance heat exertion with the time to get home and restore the beer to 40 degrees, suitable for consuming?
As I neared my home, I spotted a guy walking his dog on the sidewalk approaching me. I couldn't tell for sure, but the animal appeared to be a pit bull. I could see that the guy had a tight hold of the leash because the dog was head-strong. I should say right now that I have always been afraid of dogs--at least large ones, anyway. As the distance between me and the great beast waned, I worried about what to do. I don't want to appear to be a wimp and walk way over on the boulevard, nor did I relish being some crazed mastiff's snack.
With only yards between us now, the young man almost imperceptibly applys sufficent force to the lead to cause the dog to gradually move to the side. I breathed a sigh of relief and kept my eyes straight not wanting to tip off my would-be assailant to the fear I was hiding. I was so relieved, I felt like thanking the guy for his courteous gesture.
Two minutes later, I arrived home in a bit of a sweat and put the beer in the fridge. I immediately started making dinner and when it was ready, so was the beer. I called my daughter in and extended her a free, courtesy beer.
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Showing posts with label garage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garage. Show all posts
Friday 25 June 2010
Monday 7 December 2009
Life in the fast lane
Many times I have bored people with accounts of why I dislike as a group, several professions. They are mostly the usual ones we all have good reason to hate--lawyers, politicians, and despite the dedication and good work of most of them, doctors. This last group because we put our lives in their hands from birth and often right up to death, but some of them cause us more grief than anyone else could given the chance.
Well, today, I'm adding one that I often forget to include. I'm sure you'll agree it is a fine addition to this list of infamy. Mechanics. Not necessarily mechanics per se, but the establishment they work at as a whole. Leaving alone for the time being the shoddy work that sometimes leads to life endangering events, I'm talking about their propensity for unscrupulous recommendations for unnecessary work and gouging both for parts and labour.
Case in point: I was recently stranded and needed a boost to get going. The following day, I took my car to the same place I have been going for about 15 years and to which I have given, as you can imgine, huge sums of money during that time. I figured it was either the battery not holding a charge or else the alternator not charging the battery. I figured if it's the alternator, I'll be looking at a total cost of about $700.
I should mention here that a life truth concerning garages has become evident. "Where there are multiple possibilities of a what the problem is, most of them and others will be found to be the cause."
I got the call--it's going to run me about $600. I won't leave you wondering what I'm complaining about for too long. That price does not include a new alternator. It's for a new battery, to clean up the terminals, replace the alternator belt and doing an oil change which was due, anyway. The bastids charged me $110 plus tax just to diagnose the problem--as if that took more than two minutes and two brain cells to do. With tax, they charged me almost $200 just to replace the damn belt, an item I'm sure costs them about $20.
They also recommended I replace my air filter and all four tires; the latter I said "no" to. I find it interesting that just over a year ago, when I brought my car in to be diagnosed for the smoke that had billowed out from under the hood, they found absolutely nothing wrong (and charged me about $100 for the "good" news), yet when you bring it in for some specific work, they seem to find a whole host of things that need attention, and of course, a sack of money to "fix".
You'd think with so many evil, selfish and uncaring "mechanics" out there, that people would find a good and reputable one and stick with them. The sad truth is that there are so few honest people in the profession, that it's like finding a needle in a haystack. If you're lucky enough to find/have found one, cherish him/her--they are more precious than your soul-mate. In comparison, soul-mates are a dime a dozen.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Well, today, I'm adding one that I often forget to include. I'm sure you'll agree it is a fine addition to this list of infamy. Mechanics. Not necessarily mechanics per se, but the establishment they work at as a whole. Leaving alone for the time being the shoddy work that sometimes leads to life endangering events, I'm talking about their propensity for unscrupulous recommendations for unnecessary work and gouging both for parts and labour.
Case in point: I was recently stranded and needed a boost to get going. The following day, I took my car to the same place I have been going for about 15 years and to which I have given, as you can imgine, huge sums of money during that time. I figured it was either the battery not holding a charge or else the alternator not charging the battery. I figured if it's the alternator, I'll be looking at a total cost of about $700.
I should mention here that a life truth concerning garages has become evident. "Where there are multiple possibilities of a what the problem is, most of them and others will be found to be the cause."
I got the call--it's going to run me about $600. I won't leave you wondering what I'm complaining about for too long. That price does not include a new alternator. It's for a new battery, to clean up the terminals, replace the alternator belt and doing an oil change which was due, anyway. The bastids charged me $110 plus tax just to diagnose the problem--as if that took more than two minutes and two brain cells to do. With tax, they charged me almost $200 just to replace the damn belt, an item I'm sure costs them about $20.
They also recommended I replace my air filter and all four tires; the latter I said "no" to. I find it interesting that just over a year ago, when I brought my car in to be diagnosed for the smoke that had billowed out from under the hood, they found absolutely nothing wrong (and charged me about $100 for the "good" news), yet when you bring it in for some specific work, they seem to find a whole host of things that need attention, and of course, a sack of money to "fix".
You'd think with so many evil, selfish and uncaring "mechanics" out there, that people would find a good and reputable one and stick with them. The sad truth is that there are so few honest people in the profession, that it's like finding a needle in a haystack. If you're lucky enough to find/have found one, cherish him/her--they are more precious than your soul-mate. In comparison, soul-mates are a dime a dozen.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
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