That’s good advice for any non-English nation you visit - learn the phatic expressions in the local language. Phatic phrases are expressions that don’t convey information, but are purely social: “thank you”, “please”, “excuse me”, “hello”.
*Nitpick - you misspelled his name - it’s actually “T-u-r-d-l-i-c-k-e-r”.
Okay, I’ll bite: for benefit of those of us who don’t live on the frozen tundra, what’s a block heater? A heater that warms up your car engine so you can start it?
Pretty much - Block heater - Wikipedia
Yes. The true block heater is an electric coil that sticks into the engine through a hole created by removing a frost plug (some larger engines have a block heater on each bank of cylinders).
A frost plug is supposed to fall out of the block if freezing coolant expands because of lousy antifreeze. Rather than cracking the block, the expanding ice forces out the frost plug. In theory. There is, I think, more than one frost plug, so replacing one with a block heater is safe.
The block heater has a long enough wire with an electrical plug on the end that sticks out through the grille, or the hood closes on the wire or whatever. An electrical extension is required at that point, so the block heater can be plugged into a socket.
Less-expensive heaters include the true cheapies that replace the dipstick. Others can be attached to the oil pan.
They are needed on the snow-swept prairies, even if it’s proven that a car can start without one at –40°, because in cold temperatures, motor oil, even full-synthetic 0W-20 or whatever, won’t flow properly, if at all with thicker oil.
Extreme engine wear is the result. As well, the starter motor turns much faster when a car’s been plugged in for four or five hours and there is much less strain on a battery that could be operating at 50-per-cent power or less in the cold. Less wear all around.
My parents had a six-volt '51 Chevy that never failed to start on January mornings if it was plugged in — and sometimes if it wasn’t.
If you’ve never heard a six-volt battery at half-power because of the cold turn over an engine in the winter, you’d wonder how the damn thing could start at all.
There are battery warmers, as well, electric blankets that wrap around the battery and are plugged in. And electric car warmers that heat the interior — the plug wires go through an existing hole in the firewall or a new hole is drilled. Or a car door closes on the wire.
Car warmers keep frost from forming on the windows if the car is parked outside (does nothing for snow) and make a car interior less uncomfortable until the car’s heater kicks in, though as soon as a door is opened, much of the heated air is lost.
There are fewer of those than before, probably because with today’s small cars there is less room for them.
Confirmed. I was about 40 km/25 miles SE of there earlier this month, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. In town some of the merchants don’t speak English. Outside of town is farming communities; there, moderately more French than English but since there’s less people, you could take a while to find an English speaker.
There was a chain restaurant across the parking lot from the hotel that was 1:1 like your gas station.
The important thing aboot block heaters is to be sure to drive away down the highway with ten or twenty feet of extension cord dragging from your engine compartment.
Did this once. After that I used a cord long enough that I could pull a loop of the cord up and stick it under the wiper on the driver’s side as a visual reminder. Our current car doesn’t have one, though, as it’s almost always parked in the garage.
We forget that we don’t mind talking to people with atrocious accents, either. And then laugh at them when we get home. It’s universal.
Is “cereal box French” anything like how I learned my first words in Spanish from a box of saltinas?
I was researching the Montreal sewer system so I called the Department of Public Works, or whatever they called it in French. I was eventually given to the one (in a department of two or more people “one” is hardly “most”) person who spoke English. She politely listened to my question, then asked, “What is this word you use, ‘sewer’?” But, being from Montreal, she sounded very pretty; I understand that’s how they grow 'em there.
I lived in Cleveland one lousy year fifty years ago and that’s how I’d spell his name. Of course, it was the 1964 season and the Browns made an impression on a kid.
Most of the American stores where I live take Canadian currency 1:1.
A quick search shows current exchange rates at 1 CAD = 75¢ USD / $1USD = 1.33 CAD.
Quick, go exchange some money & get good savings at any store that does that!
Being in Canada, it was a premium I was paying for not having (enough) local currency on me.
I find this very difficult to believe, especially given the current exchange rate.
When i lived in Vancouver, the Canadian dollar was much stronger relative to the US dollar (somewhere around 90c), and even then none of the stores on the American side (whether in Bellingham or Seattle or anywhere near the border) offered a 1:1 exchange.
Any store doing that now is basically giving away about 25 percent of their money.
So build a stadium and pay MLB the expansion fee.
Seriously, that’s the barrier. MLB has no problem with a team in Montreal, and never did. The problem is that Montreal does not have a major league baseball stadium or a person who wants to build one and own a team.
Olympic Stadium was a disgrace.
I will confirm that there were several stores in the Presque Isle Maine area that offered Canadian dollars at par. I haven’t looked lately though. The last time I really paid attention to that was 10 to 15years ago and I think the dollar was around 80 cents US or so.
Despite the stadium being a disgrace Expos attendance was well over a million per year from 1977-1997, with the exception of one year, before rumors of a move started formetting.
As a matter of fact team attendance EXCEEDED league average, with over 2 million consumers per year in the early 1980s, then dropped in half when the owner fire-saled the team in the late 90s and all hell broke loose.
Montreal is an almost 5 million market where most fans want their Expos back; I think the only block to a new stadium would be what funds would be available from an already strung out Province?
I was having a lot of starting problems in winter with my Honda CRV, even though I was pugging it in regularly. Then the battery died completely and had to be replaced, well ahead of schedule.
Then I discovered that there was a short in my outlet and the block heater at normal power draw was tripping it, so essentially I’d been starting the CRV for three winters without a block heater: Help me diagnose a car/house electrical problem.
Had the outlet replaced, and no problems since.
So, I think block heaters are still essential.
Our mayor certainly wants the Expos back. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, I just think there are other things that are more important in this city.
No way it’s happening unless Montreal can show the environment has changed sufficiently to support a team now. Bringing in a AAA franchise and showing it can sell tickets would help a lot, so would a commitment to building a modern ballpark. Without those, all Montreal has to offer is pleading against its own ugly history. Sorry.
Picking a Car in Canada
Because you know it’s all about that cca
'Bout that cca, no trouble
It’s all about that cca
'Bout that cca, no trouble
It’s all about that cca
'Bout that cca, no trouble
It’s all about that cca
'Bout that cca… cca… cca… cc
The oomph needed to get chunks of metal moving against each other in the deep freeze come from your battery’s amperage. The more amps, the more oomph, and the better chance you have at starting your vehicle. Unfortunately, the colder it is, the fewer the amps. For any given vehicle battery, there will be more amps on a hot day than on a cold day. The trick then for folks who have very cold winters is to compare batteries and get the one rated for the most amps on cold days: Cold Crank Amps (CCA).
Take a current year Honda CR-V and a current year Jeep Compass, which are both crossover SUVs with the same size motors (2.0 or optional 2.4). Batteries that fit the Honda CR-V range from 340 CCA to 510 CCA. Batteries that fit the Jeep Compass range from 530 CCA to 540 CCA. Put a 2.4 Honda CR-V with a 340 CCA battery beside a 2.4 Jeep Compass with a 540 CCA battery, and the Jeep will start in colder conditions than the Honda. Moral of the story: when comparing vehicles that appeal to you and have similar motor sizes, include CCA in your considerations when differentiating between them if you live in a cold climate. (Or just go out and get a real Jeep JK a.k.a. Wrangler which has enough space for you to drop in two batteries wired in parallel to double up your amps. 
)
If you’re stuck with a vehicle that was not designed to hold a battery large enough to pump out enough amps in cold weather, then be sure to use winter grade motor oil (thinnest of the grades specified for your vehicle’s motor) and plug in the vehicle overnight, but don’t just plug in the block heater – also plug in a battery blanket. By keeping the battery warm, its amperage will not drop anywhere near as dramatically as it normally would on cold nights.
If you happen to drive a Suzuki Samurai, use a camp stove and try not to set the oil pan and motor on fire.
Never had any problem starting a new(er) car - my three-year-old Forester started without a problem even last winter, which had record nasty cold, by any standards.
I’m not sure block heaters are really necessary any more for starting, though of course, I understand they save engine wear and tear even if you don’t have a problem starting.
The vehicles I see plugged in tend to be beaters that are five or ten years old, so I have to wonder if it is more a matter plain old worn out batteries rather than anything else.
I’ve plugged mine in since I bought it, because I plan to put 10 million kilometres (or, roughly, 6.2137119224 miles) on it.
I chose it very carefully as the utmost in modernity after frost shields were no longer necessary.
I laugh at their planned obsolescence.