A 100 lb rottweiler I was pet-sitting took a hesitant leap out of the back of my 4runner and fractured her hip. She was put on pain killers until the owners could come back and put her to sleep a day later.

Thanks, Engadget!

Quick, "think fast." How's that much different from "think different?" It's not the norm, but it's not incorrect usage.

Thanks Boreas. If anything, it showed big-city me what small-town hospitality was all about. I was greeting people in that long receiving line that went out the funeral home parking lot for hours.

I just lost a loved one in SC due to a car wreck. Lone 2 lane road in the middle of nowhere, blind curve with a 25 mph limit where this lady was obviously traveling faster than 25, spins a car at a T-intersection into a ditch. She didn't even brake, the police didn't even see if she's been drinking.

I don't care if BMW ever does "takes the crown" from Lexus, after how the sales people and even the nose-turning front desk greeter at BMW of San Francisco treated me two years ago, I'm never buying one of their cars. Sure, some BMW dealerships are plenty nice, like Weatherford in Berkeley, but they're still no match for the Lexus customer service I've experienced coast to coast.

*Language police* I think it's a "simple" idea, not a "simplistic" one, which would mean you think it's dumb.

I really like Zipcar. I drive very rarely (twice a week, 10 miles total). When my car had some problems that I couldn't figure out, I signed up for their service and just ran over to one of their 3 local locations within 2 miles from me when I needed to drive somewhere. I like their variety, Volvos, Mazdas, BMWs, Minis, etc. My membership has since expired, but I'm planning on signing up again soon after I sell my SUV for when I need a pickup truck rented on the fly.

Their advantage is instant rental by the hour or day. I could be walking somewhere, decide I need a car, see a Zipcar station, see what's available on my net-phone, reserve it, slap my membership card on the windshield and the doors open. No extra papers, gas is included, no clerks.

"Oh, George, Not the livestock!"

All that engineering and the hand brake lever in an A3 hits the arm rest when pulled. Then to lower the arm rest back down, the hand brake has to be released, the arm rest ratcheted all the way up, then lowered. Ugh.