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The Old Car Files: Element Epilogue

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  Alas, in answer to the question in my previous post , this was goodbye for the Element.  Honda had me take my vehicle to a certified dealer for an inspection.  I want to thank Herb Chambers Honda in Westborough, MA for doing the inspection and the service manager for spending time talking with me about recalls and the defects in CRVs all without charge!  That was the most pleasant experience I've ever had at a car dealership, so they get some free advertising in my blog.   After reviewing the info the dealer provided, Honda closed the case with no explanation.  When I called to find out more about why they see fit to have a recall in Canada for this but not one in the US, they would not give me any more info, just kept repeating that my case was closed and couldn't be reopened.  Shame on Honda.  This tarnishes their reputation in my mind.  The Element was the third Honda I've bought.  I won't say it is the last Honda I will buy, but I'm much less likely to pay a p
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The Old Car Files: Is this Goodbye?

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The days may be numbered on our 2003 Honda Element that we have owned since 2006 when it was just a pup.  This is a picture of my actual car, not a stock photo, on a camping trip in 2007, shortly after we got it.  It's about the only picture I have of the whole car.  Maybe I need to take some more before it is too late.  Rust, the cancer of cars, is ready to send it off the great scrapyard in the sky.  Or maybe a farm upstate if you prefer. You may recall a post from about a year ago where I dealt with an  exhaust hole .  Well, the patch job with the JB Weld Exhaust Wrap has failed and I can smell exhaust gas getting into the cabin again when stopped at lights.  My first thought was to take the easy way out and just quit stopping at lights.  I started doing some research and figured I could put in a cheap catalytic converter and take my original one to a welder to have it fixed properly and then put it back on when the cheap one failed.  (An OEM Honda Cat costs $1947.71 at an onlin
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What does a post-growth society look like?

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  A recent article in The Morning newsletter from the New York Times rekindled a smoldering ember of thought that resides in a corner of my mind.  It has never burned hot enough to inspire me to serious study on the subject, but this time it has at least motivated me enough to write about it.  The topic is growth; how our society and economy are dependent on it, why I think that is problematic, and how it can change.  My thoughts on this subject are not well formed at this time and, unusually for Wisdumb, I offer no answers, only more questions. The Times article covered the aging population of Japan and showed the chart below projecting other major economies and the world as a whole being on the brink of a rapidly aging populous. The article primarily focused on the social impacts of this aging population, in particular that Japan is running out of workers.  It posits the only solution is to bring in more immigrants.  This is what bothers me and stokes that ember in the back of my min
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Dolphin S200 Pool Cleaning Robot Drive Motor Repair

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 I've spent the past two weeks doing battle with my pool cleaning robot and want to share what I've learned so others can fix their own if they run into the same problem. My robot is a Maytronics Dolphin S200.  The internals are probably very similar or identical to other models, and I think there are even rebranded versions, so the details below likely apply to a fair amount of the population.  These robots are pretty expensive to buy, but they are, in my opinion, the best way to clean my pool.  My pool is surrounded by pine trees and they are always dropping stuff in the water, so I keep my robot in the pool and it runs daily on its timer with little intervention from me and uses much, much less electricity than my previous pressure-side pool cleaner. Rant on Robot Manufacturer Greed There is a lot of markup on these robots.  The S200 I got for $600 in 2017 (and its equivalents) now sell for more than $1000.  The exact same design.  No new technology in it.  No new R&D to
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Car Shopping in 2023: The Exciting Conclusion!

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  If you recall my August post on starting a car search, I presented a list of requirements that I wanted my new car to meet.  If you don't recall, go ahead and reread it.  I'll wait.  I had to do that to remember what I wrote as I can't remember what happened yesterday, much less four months ago! As expected, I had to compromise on some of my requirements.  After test driving most of the cars on my list of options, I ended up buying a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum, shown here after hauling a bunch of scouts up to Vermont for a backpacking trip just hours after I drove it off the lot.   Incidentally, this photo has an easter egg for a future backpacking product review. Now that I have had the car for a month or so, let's check out the score card and see how I did: Good Highway Gas Mileage (7 out of 10) Reliability (7 out of 10) Good towing capacity (10 out of 10) Cargo Capacity  >40 preferred. (10 out of 10) Wireless Android Auto (3 out of 10) Heated and Ventilate
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