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@fester: When you say shoebox Ford are you talking about 49/50s? My dad had a '50 flattie Business Coupe way back when - Duntov heads, Offy 2x2 intake with an Isky cam. Tuff stuff for the day. Looked really industrial, like something the phone company would have bought. Cool car, though...

Yep, and the shame of it is that automatic transmissions aren't really that hard to fix. Anyone with modest wrenching ability can do it with a little guidance and a couple of specialized tools. My drag car has a trans brake, which lets me rev the motor up in gear, but doesn't let the car move...

Anything that won't make your trash stink too bad until the next pickup should go in the compost bin or in the trash bin, not down the disposer. Years ago, we had a GE disposer. The recommended way to sharpen the blades was to run a glass soda bottle down it. That was a parlor trick. We...

Almond extract can make a good addition to these kind of goodies. If you add 1 t. vanilla, supplement that with 1/2 t almond extract. But make sure it's real almond extract and not that artificial stuff. Adding orange zest is good, too. If you add 1 t. vanilla, add 2 t. orange zest. p.s...

@fester: There aren't a whole lot of cars any more that have a powertrain layout as you describe. You might be surprised how many inexpensive miles a person can get out of a front wheel-drive car with a transverse-mounted engine. Usually, it isn't the engine or transaxle that ends up sending...

Cool light fixture and coffee pot collection, but the view of the mountain lion outside your window is much more interesting.

@technopolis: 2nd the kudos for the Mrs. Kravitz reference! Well done, I salute you!

That's a great example of using the interwebs to promote a brand. U.S. companies should do that, too.

@mrb627: Sure, I understand that "less is more" up to a point. SQ emphasizes quality construction in their marketing, and that's good. But automatic temperature control is not new tech, nor is it a sign of compromising mechanical quality. It can be accomplished with a pretty simple control...

As one data point: We have have a Dyson model DC-17 (? - It's gray and purple and clear plastic) that we bought about 6 years ago. I think we have had it long enough to give an honest review, though. On wide expanses of carpet, its cleaning ability is excellent. We have a wiry-haired dog and...

My uncle used to design really high-power RF antenna stuff for Turner and Collins back in the 1960s and 1970s. It was for (obviously) military applications. He has pictures of the transmitter tests using gigantic EIMAC tubes that are about the size of an adult person. I think they were...

@launderess: A machine is only as good as its support organization. My sense is that when Miele discontinued the large capacity machines in the U.S. (that were actually made in Eastern Europe), it might have caused them to reconsider their commitment to the U.S. market. Not many Americans are...

@tolivac: As far as I'm concerned, circular saw design hit it's peak when Skil introduced the 77. Nothing more is needed, just like the dinner forks we use that were introduced in the 4th century. I'm left-handed, and having the blade on the left is a real benefit to me. But that's not a...

"So I went washer shopping and checked out what they had at Best Buy and Sears, I went to Lowes in Saugus Mass and saw what they had and lo and behold the same washer I had and it was built 09/2010 same thing and on clearance for $309. I was going to spend at least $1600 for a new stacked set...

@launderess: Agreed, it's good practice to dispose of any electrical device sans cord. We live in a litigious enough world that if we were to leave a defective appliance at the curb that it might come back to bite us.

Maybe the cheezy silver paint job dampens cabinet vibrations and makes it quieter. Were you lucky enough to score the matching washer off the curb, too?

"No windows? What is Maytag trying to hide?" I guess that's why a few people were still buying wringer washers into the early 1970s, even though top-load washers with solid metal lids had dominated the market for 30 or more years. "Why do those electron microscopes have those solid boxes...

I noticed the same thing years ago when I bought a pair of disco pants. Frictional heating comes from things rubbing together. Not everything is meant to rub together, if you know what I mean. My life improved considerably after I quit wearing those disco pants.

Wow, with your ability to hide big pieces laundry equipment in plain sight, you should consider a career with Air America, or whatever the modern-day version of that company is...

That's why I like my Skilsaw 77. For 30 years and counting. Brushes go bad? - go to the local dealer. Problem solved for $1.99 plus tax. The only tool needed to change the brushes is a nickel or a quarter. Framing something 10 feet in the air, and have to decide to drop your saw so you...