I left work early yesterday so that I could get my car inspected. Massachusetts requires an inspection of all cars once a year or when the ownership changes. There is a basic safety inspection (lights, horn, etc.), but mostly it's an emissions check. My greenhouse gases were in good order. In years past, they'd jack the car up and check the tie rods. They'd also poke at the body to see if there were dangerous amounts of rust. One friend had patched his car with press plates from the local newspaper. You could read last month's news in reverse print on the fenders of his car.

I still get nervous during inspections, going back to my days of driving $250 cars. A friend called my Volkswagen a Rolls Canardly - it rolls down the hill and canardly make up the other side. Repairs were simple, though, usually requiring just a screwdriver, pliers, and the occasional hammer. One time, I was driving along and the engine caught fire. (Some oil had squirted out from the filler tube.) A few wires burned up before I could blow out the fire. I restarted the car and it ran fine. I never did find out what those wires did.