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Anyone who has owned a used BMW knows that while they are wonderful machines, they can also be expensive to maintain, and having a good relationship with skilled mechanics is essential. I have been really fortunate to know some great people, honest and exceptionally talented, who have helped me learn incredible amounts of info about BMWs.

I've already introduced my readers to my friend and BMW artisan Geoff Reid, and now I'd like to take the time to introduce you to my friends Jamie DeWolfe and Frank Apa who own and operate Eurotech Import Auto Service.

The guys at Eurotech have been helping my dad with his car, but also his racing car (a converted e30 328i), and as a result my dad spends almost all his free time there. Whenever I drop by and visit the atmosphere is always warm and welcoming.

It seems almost every day I think of a blog post to write yet I can never find the time due to an incredibly busy summer. Mind you I'm quite happy to be working as much as I am and engaged in all sorts of exciting projects. However I must make a greater effort to share what's in my mind as it helps me keep track of when my thoughts change and evolve.

Today I thought of a few posts to write, and the easiest and thus first to see the light of day, is a thought about my spiders.

Legendary Canadian Golf Professional Herb Holzscheiter is an incredible and endearing individual. Playing out of the Weston Golf and Country Club, Herb is both an excellent golfer and a warm friend.

This speech by Herb was part of the award ceremony of the H/H Scramble held May 9th 2007 at Weston GCC. It offers a glimpse of his wit and charisma, something people close to Herb treasure and adore.

Filmmaker Robin Benger is someone I've grown quite close to in the past year. I admire both his work, and his general perspective, I hope to collaborate with him in the future on all sorts of projects.

Emily and I made our annual trip to Chicago this past weekend for American Thanksgiving. Explicitly we go to Palatine Illinois to visit Emily's grandfather Fred Pohl, and other members of the maternal side of her family. The last two years have been road trips as we've driven from Toronto to Chicago. Last year the weather was nasty, with all sorts of conditions ranging from fog, to snow, ice, rain, sleet, hail, you name it.

Recently, to celebrate Emily finishing the first draft of her second Natalie Fuentes novel, we took a quick road trip out to the Atlantic Coast of New Hampshire and Maine. I'm really getting into doing long drives, and we went at just the right time as the colours of the leaves were perfect.

I've previously written about my buddy Geoff, and the help he's given me in learning about and properly maintaining my car. I like Geoff so much I wanted to make a video with him discussing why he thinks used BMWs are such a great investment. I'm really lucky to have someone like Geoff, and certainly encourage anyone in the Toronto area with a BMW to go to Geoff (647-234-0626) and have him take care of your car!

This is the first video that I made with my Nokia e70 camera phone. Emily and I were driving against rush hour traffic to go visit her dad at the Trillium hospital in Mississauga. We were both amazed at how totally clogged the QEW was, and thus made this short video expressing just that!

As pictured above, I have a 1991 e36 325i BMW, and it has over 240,000 kms on its odometer. While this car has been dearly loved for it's entire decade and a half of existence, its still an ageing car, that requires regular care to continue operating at its optimum performance.

After years as a militant cyclist and pedestrian I finally got my driver's license last August. Since then Emily and I have been on a few road trips.

Our first was to visit Eric in NYC, celebrating his engagement, and then wedding. Our second was to Chicago, for American Thanksgiving, at the house of Sci-Fi legend Fred Pohl (a/k/a Emily's Grandfather).