Get your car ready for winter now before prices rise



We're midway through fall, and that means it's time — if you haven't gotten around to it yet — to do the automotive version of spring cleaning: a winter tune-up.

Everyone else is doing this too, so prices for services tend to increase this time of year — but you still may be able to save some money if you act sooner rather than later.

Getting your car maintenance done when the mileage points are met per the service schedule can save you up to $1,200 per year. You can do some repairs yourself, but if you have no clue what you are doing, find an ASE-certified mechanic or technician to do the work for you.

Scheduling maintenance early not only guarantees better service availability but also helps drivers budget more effectively.

Tire inspection and rotation

  • Average cost: Typically ranges from $20 to $50 for rotation.
  • Fall price difference: Prices can increase by 10%-20% due to higher demand as drivers prepare for winter conditions.

When it comes to your car, tires are one of the most important maintenance items to keep up on. With winter on the way, you’ll want to inspect each tire for any damage as well as check its tread depth. You'll also want to rotate all four tires to ensure even wear.

Brake inspection

  • Average cost: Inspection is usually free, but replacing brake pads costs around $150-$300 per axle.
  • Fall price difference: Prices can increase by 5%-15% as more drivers service their brakes in anticipation of harsher driving conditions.

Brakes, of course, should also be kept in tip-top running order. It’s not just the actual brakes themselves but the rotors, pads, and fluid levels that keep the whole system running smoothly.

Battery check

  • Average cost: Battery testing is often free, but replacement costs between $75 and $200.
  • Fall price difference: Prices may rise by 5%-10% due to higher demand and potential supply chain issues.

An easy check you can most likely do yourself or have done for very little money at the end of summer: test your battery. Does it have a charge? Does the terminal need cleaning? Is it on its last legs, ready to be replaced?

Do it while the weather is still relatively warm. The cold puts a strain on batteries, draining them even faster than normal. You do not want to be out in freezing temperatures on the side of the road because your battery died.

Fluid top-up and replacement

  • Average cost: Oil changes usually cost $30-$70; coolant flushes around $100-$150.
  • Fall price difference: Service prices may increase by 5%-10%.

Fluid checks, flushes, and replacements are another simple and fairly cheap set of fix-it jobs ... that is, if you do it now.

All you have to do is make sure your essential fluids — brake fluid, windshield washer fluid, coolant, and oil — are full and clean. Should they happen to be dirty or low, you can have a mechanic flush the old fluids and replace them with new fluid or top off the levels if they are a little low.

These fluids are like the life-blood of your car, crucial to the performance of the engine and stopping cold weather-related problems before they start. Waiting until it’s chilly will only add to the amount you’ll have to pay for fluid maintenance, so take care of it while the weather is still mild.

HVAC system check

  • Average cost: Basic inspection costs around $50-$100.
  • Fall price difference: Prices can rise by 10%-15% due to higher service demand.

You’ve probably been using your car’s air conditioning a lot this summer, but have you checked whether the heat is also working? What about whether the ventilation is allowing the right flow of air?

Better to do it now than wait until winter sets in and you are frozen in the driver’s seat. Those who do not will find long lines at their local mechanics and high prices as a cold comfort toward the end of the year.

Wiper blade replacement

  • Average cost: New wiper blades cost around $20-$50.
  • Fall price difference: Prices typically remain stable but may see slight increases.

It's easy to tell when your wiper blades have kicked the bucket. However, this problem can seem less urgent during an Indian summer. But by the time leaves, rain, and snow start falling, it will be too late.

Ask your local mechanic to take care of it today or do it yourself to save a few extra bucks.

Neglecting any one of these repairs can leave you on the side of the road. Also, being proactive will save you money. Waiting almost always means much higher costs down the line in the form of more extensive repairs or lost resale value if you blow it off.

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'The Mootrix'? Cows wear virtual reality goggles in winter to simulate sunny pastures. It reportedly makes them happier, boosts milk production.



Virtual reality technology apparently isn't solely for humans.

Turns out some folks got the nifty idea to outfit cows with virtual reality goggles in the winter in the hopes of boosting their milk production, the Sun reported.

Say what?

The goggles were developed with veterinarians and first tested on a farm in Moscow, the paper said, adding that cattle breeder Izzet Kocak put them on two cows in Aksaray, Turkey, and results have been favorable.

Photo by Zekeriya Karadavut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Believe it or not, the cows' milk output has increased from 5.8 gallons to 7 gallons a day, the Sun said.

Instead of looking at a chilly indoor facility, the cows are "watching a green pasture, and it gives them an emotional boost. They are less stressed," Kocak told the paper.

Russia’s agriculture ministry said the system was developed based on the principle that cows perceive shades of red better than shades of blue and green, the Sun said.

“During the first test, experts recorded a decrease in anxiety," the ministry noted to the paper.

Indeed, while previously Kocak played classical music for his 180 animals, presumably as a mood booster, he's so happy with the virtual reality goggles that he plans to buy 10 more sets, the Sun said.

'The Mootrix'?

Images of one cow digging what's likely a sun-drenched pasture while hanging out with other cows indoors has captured the imagination of folks on social media, who are comparing the experiment to the sci-fi classic "The Matrix," the paper said.

As most of you know, "The Matrix" is the tale of the earth as we know it being nothing more than a simulation, while our real bodies are afloat in goo-filled pods as we generate energy for evil machines.

The main character Neo — played by Keanu Reeves — is located by "freed" humans inside the Matrix simulation and given a choice between taking a red pill to escape his pod and begin living in the real world or taking a blue pill to forget the whole thing.

“You take the short grass, the story ends, you wake up in the pasture and believe whatever you want to believe," one witty observer wrote in reference to the cows' VR experience, the Sun reported. "You take the long grass, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the human hole goes.”

Another person offered the following quip, the paper said: “With the sequels The Mootrix Reuddered and The Mootrix Ruminations.”

Feds to Americans: Expect your heating bills to soar big-time this winter — as much as 54%



If you thought inflation was a problem this summer and fall, just wait until you try heating your home this winter.

At least, that appears to be the warning from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in its new Winter Fuels Outlook report released Wednesday.

Americans can expect their home heating bills to jump significantly over the winter months compared to last year, the EIA reported — with some citizens possibly paying 54% more.

What's this now?

The EIA released its Winter Fuels Outlook report Wednesday, and the news was not good for the American people. Heating prices across all types of heating — natural gas, electricity, propane, and heating oil — are expected to rise significantly for the coming months.

According to the EIA, "retail prices for energy are at or near multiyear highs" in the U.S. as the nation continues to experience supply problems.

Natural gas users can expect to spend about a third more than they did in 2020-21, while electricity users will see a 6% bump. Those using heating oil should expect to pay more than 40% more, and propane users will really get the shaft, with estimates projecting a 54% hike in heating prices.

And that's if we experience an average winter. If the nation sees a colder winter, bills will jump even higher, with propane heating costs projected to nearly double from a year ago.

From the EIA:

● We expect that the nearly half of U.S. households that heat primarily with natural gas will spend 30% more than they spent last winter on average — 50% more if the winter is 10% colder-than-average and 22% more if the winter is 10% warmer-than-average.

● We expect the 41% of U.S. households that heat primarily with electricity will spend 6% more — 15% more in a colder winter and 4% more in a warmer winter.

● The 5% of U.S. households that heat primarily with propane will spend 54% more — 94% more in a colder winter and 29% more in a warmer winter.

● The 4% of U.S. households that heat primarily with heating oil will spend 43% more — 59% more in a colder winter and 30% more in a warmer winter.

U.S. Energy Information Administration

The new report is, the Associated Press said, "is the latest reminder of the higher inflation" consumers are suffering under. Earlier Wednesday, the government released a report showing prices were 5.4% higher for American consumers in September than they were a year ago — the highest inflation in 13 years.

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Canada planned 'winter training' for Chinese troops next door to US, documents show



A trove of documents obtained by Canada's Rebel News Network show that the Canadian Armed Forces planned several exercises with the Chinese People's Liberation Army last year, including a "winter survival training" at a military base in Ontario, which borders the United States.

The engagement was called off by Canada's chief of defense staff, a decision that received pushback from the country's Global Affairs department who voiced concern that the cancellation might damage relations between Ottawa and Beijing.

What are the details?

Ezra Levant, the founder of Rebel News, tweeted Wednesday, "The biggest scoop I've ever had in my life. Trudeau invited Chinese troops to learn winter warfare tactics at the Canadian Forces Base [Garrison Petawawa]. 34 unredacted pages of cowardice and appeasement towards China, hostility towards America."

Garrison Petawawa is located in Ontario, which borders the U.S. states of New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

The documents cited by Levant may be viewed at thechinafiles.com. Rebel News reports that the Canadian government provided the records in response to a request from the outlet after it sought to corroborate "a Russian report that Canada had sent a delegation to China for the 70th anniversary celebrations for the [People's Liberation Army] Navy" — just months after two Canadians were arrested in China following Canada's arrest of Huawei DFO Meng Wanzhou, who the U.S. has accused of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The documents, marked "SECRET//CANADIAN EYES ONLY, " show details of several engagements set for 2019 that had been "potentially paused," including the winter training in Ontario, along with meetings between Canadian and Chinese officers on military education and defense coordination at the "1-star or 2-star level" on Canadian soil.

The Globe and Mail, Canada's newspaper of record, also reviewed the documents, and noted that Canada's Global Affairs department objected to Canada's defense chief scaling back exercises with China's military, reporting that "the United States had raised concerns about joint military exercises that could benefit the PLA."

The outlet pointed to a Feb. 2019 memo sent by then-Canadian deputy minister of foreign affairs, Ian Shugart, who wrote to the country's deputy minister of defense, "Should Canada make any significant reductions in its military engagement with China, China will likely read this as a retaliatory move related to the Meng Wanzhou case."

The two Canadians arrested in China immediately following Wanzhou's arrest are Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. A third Canadian, Robert Schellenberg—who has been held in China since 2014 on allegations of drug smuggling—was sentenced to death shortly after Kovrig and Spavor were arrested. All three men remain imprisoned in the communist country.

The day the documents were revealed, Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, "For the past two years, we've been working tirelessly to secure the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - and we'll continue to do so until they're safe at home. We'll keep standing up for them and standing with their families."

In reaction to the documents, Canada's Conservative (opposition party) foreign affairs minister Michael Chong and defense minister Jame Bezan released a join statement condemning Trudeau, saying in part:

"Documents revealed today demonstrate that Global Affairs Canada and National Defence are not coordinated in Canada's policy toward China and were at odds with each other over the terms of engagement between the Canadian Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army. Furthermore, despite the fact that China has kidnapped our citizens, punished our farmers and threatened Canadians in Hong Kong, the Liberal government is willing to jeopardize our Five Eyes intelligence alliance to avoid offending the communist regime in Beijing.

Chong and Bezan concluded:

"Enough is enough. Canada needs a government that is willing to stand up to China and for our values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Instead of spurning the advice of our allies, it is time to listen, and to ensure that Canada stands on the right side of history."

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