/dev/random: Distributed Illogic

As a teen I bought my first car (a ’69 Chevy Impala Custom, in the trunk of which you could park most of today’s models with room to spare) using money I’d saved from various jobs after school and on weekends. The engine was a small block 350 without any fancy electronics, emissions control devices apart from an exhaust manifold, or fuel injection mumbo-jumbo. I knew how it worked, how to do routine maintenance and simple repairs, and where everything was in the engine compartment. I could replace/gap spark plugs, change the oil, filters, and distributor cap, adjust the timing, play with the carb mixture, and so on. It was a straightforward, reliable vehicle, even if it did lack certain optional luxuries like functional motor mounts.