LMT_Jan_16_2022_Vol_116_issue_04

10 lmtimes.ca • Last Mountain Times • Monday, January 16, 2023
Holding Your Horsepower Ransom
I’m going to start with a few facts about me that you may or may not know. First, I have never purchased a
brand-new vehicle, and I never will.
Mercedes EV’s look like every other EV to me: Bland, lifeless, colourless, and disinteresting. Can’t we agree that a big set of fins and
some fat bumpers would be a great use of space for more battery cells?
I’ve never even purchased one that didn’t need
some level of rust repair, aside from the fibreglass
one, of course. My house thermostat has
a switch and a slide lever, I’ll never use an
Amazon Alexa, and although I have a
smart phone, I don’t ever carry it and
I never use Siri. I don’t like how the
Camshaft
Corner future looks, and most days I’m not
KELLY KIRK even sold on the present.
With gas and diesel priced where
they are, I’ve spent my last few
weeks researching things like overdrive
and electronic fuel injection, and
RM of McKillop No. 220
INVITING APPLICATIONS
Assistant Administrator/Administrative Assistant
The RM of McKillop No. 220 invites applications for a qualified
Assistant Administrator/Administrative Assistant. This position
provides support to the Chief Administrative Officer while
working as part of a team to support other municipal departments/
positions. The position is based in the RM Administration office,
located in Bulyea, SK.
The RM of McKillop No. 220 is located just 45 minutes driving
distance northwest of the City of Regina. The Rural Municipality
of McKillop No. 220 (RM) is a diverse, scenic community with a
reported 1800 ratepayers. The RM consists of five full townships
and four partial townships along with 945 subdivided residential
lots found in 20 resort communities located along the east shore of
Last Mountain Lake. The 20 resort communities are comprised of
9 Organized Hamlets and 11 Unorganized Hamlets.
THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE THE
FOLLOWING:
• Experience with budgeting, financial operations, assessment, taxation
and general office management
• Knowledge of municipal accounting
• The ability to communicate with and work alongside staff members,
council and the public. This includes experience with both written and
verbal communication
• Strong computer skills including proficient use of Microsoft Word and
Excel • Knowledge of Munisoft computer software
• Leadership, communication and organizational skills.
This position will be scheduled to work 3-4 days per week and
offers a competitive wage, based on experience and qualifications,
and a comprehensive employee benefit plan.
Municipal Government experience including having a Local
Government Administration Certificate or the willingness to work
toward certification will be considered an asset. Some bookkeeping
or accounting experience will be considered a significant asset.
Applications for the above position will be accepted until 4:00
p.m. on January 20, 2023. Your cover letter and resume may be
delivered by email, postal mail or in person to:
Camille Box, CAO(Acting)
R.M. of McKillop No. 220
P. O. Box 220
103 Ashley Street
Bulyea, Saskatchewan
S0G 0L0
Email: rm220administrator@rm220.ca
** Only those considered for an interview will be contacted.
I’ve been impressed, but I haven’t been enthused.
There’s no doubt that I’ll go in that direction soon,
as I have pretty much everything on hand to build
a budget beater with a “good enough” 275 horsepower,
with plenty of torque, that should be able
to roll down the highway at about 1700rpm. Why
make a boring electronic payment on a new vehicle
every month, when you can spend your time and
money more adventurously buying a couple pieces
every time you go to the junk yard, right?
I do, however, enjoy the modern conveniences
of lithium battery-powered shop tools, so I do
somewhat live in a world of hypocrisy, though there
is the argument that it’s easier to charge a dead
tool in a shop than it is a dead car on the side of
the road. There more I see of this wireless stuff
and this “smart” technology, the more Orwellian
it looks to me.
Mercedes, like everyone, have a new EV, and
it performs pretty well, but only if you pay the
price over and over again, forever. I don’t think
I’ve ever read so many news stories on a car that
I have absolutely zero interest in, but here we
are.
The new Mercedes made headlines, not for
how fast it is, but instead for how fast it can
be, provided you’re willing to “subscribe” to it.
Traditionally, when you wanted a faster car, you
bought a faster car. Your monthly payment goes up
on a lease, and the sticker price goes up if you’re
buying it outright. Mercedes are doing it differently,
however, as they want one-hundred bucks a
month, every month, forever, to simply unlock the
performance in your car that’s already installed in
it. Unsubscribe, you’re going to be taking your time
on the road.
What do you get for your money? Certainly, no
sweet exhaust note, as it’s an EV… You do, however,
get the performance that normally comes with
a sweet exhaust note, to the tune of almost a full
second taken off the zero-to-sixty time. That’s performance
that matters, horsepower you can feel,
and it’s all yours for a fair bit more than the price of
a cup of coffee every day.
I guess I get it, I mean, television, internet, and
streaming services all charge monthly for their
entertainment services, so if pulling up harder in
traffic is entertainment for you, it makes sense. I
should also note this car stickers-out at over one
hundred grand, to begin with. Can I wrap my head
around it? No, not really, I feel it’s mild extortion.
In reading about this, though, I learned that BMW
charges eighteen bucks a month for your heated
seats to work on some models.
If they can do that, it makes me wonder what else
is wired that way if they want to start charging for
it. Window switches? Wipers? HVAC fan? I’d say
there are a lot of strings attached in the future, but
the problem is there’s nothing attached, and they
can take it away invisibly and anonymously, just
with the stroke of a keyboard.
Editors note - Without fully understanding the economics of building
cars, I’ve always wondered if it would be cheaper for a manufacturer
to just install automatic windows, for example, in ALL their cars
rather than having the option for manual windows. It would eliminate
manufacturing all of the parts required for manual windows. Cranks,
spring clips, punching the hole in the door panel, adding trim, etc.,
and it would streamline all the things they would otherwise need to
do differently. Not running wires to each door, not filling in the door
panel hole where the controls would go, etc. It would also add value
and appeal to the brand “All our models come standard with blah
blah blah.” From what I’ve read about BMW’s heated seats, having
the option permanently is about $400, or you can subscribe for $18/
month. I assume that before the ability to provide subscriptions,
this option cost $400 anyway. So, in this case, they are providing an
option that you would otherwise never have the opportunity to have
in your car after you take it from the dealership.
Have a question or comment for Kelly? Post it at lmtimes.ca/kirk
A Slightly Classier Camaro
Car companies certainly have a knack for blowing money,
and that’s coming from a guy who is a huge fan of some of the
concept cars that had no hope of ever reaching production.
You can just make out the Camaro core by looking at the windshield and the door. Other than that, it’s an unrecognizable
animal. Almost like a Jaguar or a Ford Capri, but not really.
Camshaft
Corner
KELLY KIRK
That being said, as things get more expensive and harder to get and
I get older and more cynical, I’ve become more of a fan of the ordinary.
Dodge made that Hellcat Santa sleigh thing that one Christmas;
remember that? It probably had 707 horsepower, and it didn’t even have tires.
Neat publicity idea, but that’s one of the reasons they’ve gotten themselves in
trouble and had to be bailed out in the past. Will they bring back the Viper?
I’m to the point that I don’t even care that much anymore. How about making a
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