Monthly Archives: August 2025

Having a Fit… or not

Posted on by under Generic Rant, photos

Last week at this time I was bemoaning the sad state of car purchasing when I related the story of trying to replace my (now it can be told) Honda Fit. Like most small, roomy, gas-conserving, inexpensive cars, it was discontinued by its manufacturer. The motivation is either collusion with the Oil Oligarchy or simply a cynical attempt to drop low margin cars in favor of high margin gas-guzzling SUV’s that are purchased by people whose only off-road driving is accidentally rolling across a corner of their lawn while backing out of their driveway.

The Fit was the perfect car for me. It got great gas mileage, routinely more than 40 MPG, which fits my budget. My bike fit in the back along with two weeks of vacation packing. (Yes, I did it.) And it fit in the smallest of parking spaces, even those encroached upon by aforementioned behemoth SUV’s.

Do you see the recurring theme? The Fit fit my lifestyle to the proverbial “T”. It also lends itself to some cool vanity plates, two of which I’ve seen being “HISSY” and “2B TIED”. The only improvement would be if it carried the same moniker as its European counterpart: Jazz. Now, that’s a cool name.

No more. The geniuses at Honda decided no one wants them anymore. This in spite of the fact that the market for used Fits is through the roof, along with the prices. There seemed to be no hope for me.

Then I found this local business where I’m sure I can pick up a brand new one:

Who knew? A Fit factory right nearby! Can’t wait to check it out. Wish me luck.

What Will Set Us Free Now?

Posted on by under Generic Rant

Recently, I was searching for information about cars. There was a car I was interested in that had been discontinued by its manufacturer back in 2020. (I won’t mention any names, but it’s the Honda Fit.) I searched to see if the model might be back some time. Other cars have made a return, e.g. Mustang, Honda Prelude, and VW Bus (or Buzz, as it’s called now) so why not that Fit, er, that unnamed car?

I was thrilled to find a couple of websites announcing a 2026 version of the car. They had video presentations of the design and various features. It looked great!

But something smelled funny about these sites. First of all, they weren’t from Honda, that is, the manufacturer. Just a brief examination made it obvious the websites were fraudulent. The videos and photos had been created by AI. That’s when it hit me. Nothing can be trusted anymore, especially on the Internet.

When MAGA came along and began its assault on truth with its “alternate facts” and other such nonsense, I thought it was just a blip on the lie radar. Nope. They never let up their onslaught. Now they’re joined by a far more sophisticated and pernicious purveyor of deceit: AI.

There have always been lies and liars. (Remember Lyndon Larouche, Bernie Madoff, Frank Abagnale, Rosie Ruiz, the Tobacco Institute, Richard Nixon, and all the other Trump forerunners?) AI makes them all look like amateurs. Anyone can tell anyone anything anytime and it’s almost impossible to discern the truth because AI excels at camouflaging lies. That’s what it does best.

Jesus once famously and accurately said, “The truth will set you free.” With truth now held hostage by sleazy power brokers, ruthless criminals, vicious bullies, amoral techies, and other ne’er-do-wells, where do we turn to be set free? Personally, I throw my lot in with the Originator of that maxim.

Quotes#4

Posted on by under Books, Generic Rant, Original writing

Back in the day, when I was writing another blog (q.v. Limping in the Light) I had a few series of posts, such as things I’m thankful for, lies we believe, spiritual disciplines of the modern world, among others. One abbreviated series I ran was of meaningful quotes. There were only three such posts in that blog. (If you’re interested, you can find them here, here, and here.) That’s a shame because I collect and save such quotes at an alarming rate. The file in which I record them contains a few hundred.

Such a waste! To relieve my conscience, I think I’ll share a couple here.

I just finished reading Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. Not only was it a wonderful book, it was a treasure trove of wisdom. Here are a couple of nuggets.

Here’s a statement of the human condition which sadly has been so for all recorded time.

People whose history and future were threatened each day by extinction considered that it was only by divine intervention that they were able to live at all. I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God’s will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at a commensurate speed.

Although her book was published in 1969, Ms. Angelou prophetically characterizes certain current national figures with this analysis:

In order to be profoundly dishonest, a person must have one of two qualities: either he is unscrupulously ambitious, or he is unswervingly egocentric. He must believe that for his ends to be served all things and people can justifiably be shifted about, or that he is the center not only of his own world but of the worlds which others inhabit.

I’ve never seen a more precise description of a certain despicable scoundrel who is even now tearing down everything we cherish.