Word of the Day
Lilting (adj., LI'L'-ting)
With a cheerful, rhythmic pattern, perhaps in a singsong manner. The best example of this is probably "I Saw Three Ships."
Gif of the Day
TennisStan WawrinkaSelfiesHear the tennis ballsYou earned it, sirRoland Garros is Berning?
Link of the Day
ChrisFix
A couple months ago, I replaced the rear brake pads and rotors on my car. The dealer had told me that one of the pads was down to 20%. To replace them, they would charge me $550. I’d heard from a friend that changing brakes wasn’t too hard of a job, so I opted to do it on my own.
I found ChrisFix when researching the repair. ChrisFix is a petrolhead who posts long videos detailing how to do various things related to cars. They’re usually long—at least twelve to fifteen minutes—but by the end of them, you’ll know everything you need.
Look, I run a daily website with well over 1,000 entries. I’ve seen a lot of the internet. I also have a background in technical writing. These are REALLY well-done instructional videos. They’re meticulously detailed, but they’re also written, shot, and edited well. There’s nothing that’s unclear. With only one hiccup, I was able to do the entire job after watching the video (and saved over $400). And some of the things ChrisFix calls out in the videos are backed up by professional mechanics. One noted that putting anti-seize on one part of the mechanism was something he does but routinely sees amateurs omit. It’s a minor detail, but it makes future maintenance much easier.
I love This Old House because of how it foregrounded tradespeople and always showed the decisions and work behind the project. ChrisFix’s videos stand in that tradition. (Side note: he’s working on normal cars too. His drift car is a 1998 Mustang. The beater/fixer upper is a 1993 Civic del Sol. They’re inexpensive cars, not Golf R’s.) His videos go by quickly, and you’ll learn.
I’ve embedded the brake video above. Below, I’m going to post my favorite series of videos he did, showing how to evaluate whether a used car is worth buying and then how to do an inspection and test drive. Watch, learn, and enjoy.
VideosHow toChrisFixCarsEditing, rhythm, and detailThere is such a thing as central jersey?