The Alajuela station is one of the most trafficked in the  country but  these days appointments have eliminated the two-kilometer waiting lines.
 

The fourth time is a charm for revisión tecnica and my little car. But the whole process raises some concerns.

In all, my 1992 Hyundi Excel went to the Alajuela inspection station of Riteve S y C four times. The inspections proved to be inconsistent and raised a question about the validity of the process.

The inspection stations are clean, and the workers are well-groomed. An appointment process has reduced the waiting. But the following chronology suggests that all might not be well with the process.

Feb. 5

First shot at revisión tecnica. The vehicle is rejected for having excessive exhaust emissions. Three lesser faults were found: a cracked brake light lens, a cracked turn signal lens and a variation in the pull of the front and rear brakes. The three lesser faults (leve) do not result in rejection, only a warning. This is not unusual since three of every four vehicles brought to the inspection failed the first time, according to the company.

Three weeks later

A mechanic finds a broken part in the emissions control system, fixes it and avows that the car is ready for inspection.

March 5

A return to the same inspection station but without an appointment. Vehicles are backed up to the main highway. A guard suggests I better leave because only vehicles with appointments will be inspected.
 

March 12

I return to the same inspection station after having made an appointment. But the period in which I can be reinspected for free has expired. I pay 8,805 colons, a little more than $22.

This time the inspection is more rigorous, results in more problems and is inconsistent with the previous one.

The vehicle again is failed for excessive emissions, although the fault is less than half a percent in one of four emissions categories.

This time the handbrake is said to be faulty. The computerized screen actually showed that the rear brakes were weak, but the final computer printout targeted the handbrake. Both emissions and the hand brake were grave faults.

This time the inspection report said the exhaust pipe was corroded excessively (?). The inspection also showed that only one side of the window washer managed to get fluid on the windshield. The rear lens still had a crack. These still are leve and do not result in failure.

Two weeks later

A mechanic who is an expert in exhaust emissions applies a measurement device to the vehicle, and 

April 1

Hardly any vehicles are at the inspection station at the same time, 3 p.m. A worker says the appointment system is the reason. The reinspection is free. 

The tech asks that I run the car at 1,000 rpms and then suggests that I wing it when he notices the car does not have a tachometer. Although no adjustments were made to the exhaust system, the car passes the emissions check in ranges that are about half the legal limit in each category.

The hand brake that was never faulty passes, too. The computer printout continues to report that the tail light lens is cracked and that the tailpipe is corroded. But the report of the faulty windshield washer magically vanishes.

In retrospect.

The car has problems with the front brakes, and the mechanic is awaiting parts to make the repair. The rear brakes probably could use new pads. But revisión tecnica did not highlight these areas of serious concern.

A lack of consistency between the front and rear brakes did not show up in the second full inspection.

The hand brake never was faulty and was singled out by some form of computer input error. Perhaps a tech punched the wrong button. 

The emissions measurement was inconsistent. Big differences were registered between March 12 and April 1 although no changes were made to the vehicle.

Mechanics speculate that waiting in line for the test might have caused the vehicle to emit more pollution. Or the testing equipment was not maintained properly. Some filters might not be changed as frequently as needed.

The brake problem is a serious concern. The front brakes on the vehicle are marginal, but the inspection did not show this. The rear brakes did not pass the second inspection but the computer mistakenly blamed the hand brake.

The test did result in locating a mechanical problem that, when fixed, reduced pollution.

Some suggestions

The inspection should concentrate on serious problems and not rusty tailpipes or windshield washers  particularly if deficiencies never result in rejection.

Some consideration should be given to checking the noise level of vehicles, including motorcycles.

A analysis of motor vehicle accidents over the next two years should conclude if the revision system is worth all the time and investment, but chances are the program is here to stay as a good source of jobs for younger technical graduates.

OTTAWA, Canada — Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has reaffirmed his country's friendship with the United States, but says his government is standing by its decision not to send troops to Iraq. 

Speaking in parliament Tuesday, the prime minister said Canada's refusal to join the U.S.-led coalition was based on principle, not its friendship with the United States. 

He disassociated himself, however, from anti-American comments made by some lawmakers in his governing Liberal party.  The Bush administration has criticized Ottawa for failing to directly support U.S.-led war efforts in Iraq, although Canada is providing limited logistical support in the Persian Gulf. 

Canadian business leaders have said trade ties with the United States will suffer due to Canada's reluctance to send troops to Iraq. 

Motorist shot, dies
in Heredia attack

Gunmen killed a 42-year-old man late Monday as he drove through San Joaquin de Flores in Heredia. Police are uncertain if the killing was a car jacking or an assassination.

The man, Freddy Vargas Estarda of Venecia de San Carlos was returning from San José where he had gone on errands. He was a businessman in his home town and was believed to have been seeking vehicles parts.

Persons in a gray sedan intercepted him as he drove in his Toyota Hi-Lux near the Megasuper in San Joaquin de Flores and fired into his vehicle, said agents from the Judicial Investigating Organization. A Fuerza Pública spokesman said police on the scene said one bullet hit Vargas in the right eye and caused him to drive his vehicle off a road into a business.

In all, some four bullets were fired, according to witnesses and reported by investigators. The shooting happened about 11:30 p.m. Vargas died at a hospital nearby.

Evaluations released
for study of ministries

Some 21 per cent of the ministries and institutions got bad evaluations Tuesday in a study of goals conducted by the Presidencia. Some 27 percent of the agencies were listed as excellent.

The evaluations were based on how well the various ministries and institutions completed their assigned missions in the Plan Nacional de Desarrollo. Vice President Lineth Saborío, who was acting as president in the absence of Abel Pacheco, received the reports at a Consejo de Gobierno meeting in the morning and released the information in a press conference later.

Officials said the evaluations will be conducted every six months now instead of every year.

Getting a low evaluation was, among others the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energia. But the Minsterio de Obras Públicas y Transporte got high marks.

Motorcyclists shoot man
and steal briefcase

Two men on a motorcycle shot and robbed a man who carried a briefcase full of money in Higuerón de San Pedro.

Investigators said the victim was Dagoberto Monge Gamboa. He got out of his vehicle about 7 p.m. near the Organización de Asuntos Forestales where he works when the two men, faces covered with motorcycle helmets, arrived and shot him in the leg. They took the briefcase with 2 million colons (some $5,140) and two gold chains worth about 200,000 colons ($515), said investigators.
 

U.S. Embassy closed

U.S. Embassy officials remind citizens that Friday is a Costa Rican holiday, the 147th anniversary of the Battle of Rivas, so the embassy and the consulate will be closed.

Superheroes like to take to the skies and the rooftops. The space is crowded up there: Superman, Batman, Gargoyles, the Crow, Spiderman.

Now here comes Daredevil. As superheroes go, he has all the moves and a nifty red rubber suit. He happens to be blind, but that seems to be a minor 

inconvenience because he sees with soundwaves. Huh? If the casual viewer is confused by sound-wave seeing, just wait. Our hero also seems to defy gravity by leaping off buildings and landing without doing any harm to himself.  The movie that is showing in the Central Valley now

The Daredevil

is based on the Marvel comics character. The show is unabashedly a setup for a sequel. The bad guy is cleverly nicknamed "the Kingpin." Good guys and bad guys are martial arts experts. So is the girl, but she likes swords, too.

The viewer is left wondering how a blind man can walk, fight, sort of fly without messing up even a bit. The viewer also wonders when the heck the show will be over.

The plot is right out of many other grade B movies. 

With the arrival of the girl, a Batlady markdown, the hero has second thoughts about his judge-and-jury attitude and embarks on an identity crisis.  Schizophrenia seems to be an occupational hazard in the superhero business when one has to maintain a normal lifestyle by day in order to flit around the rooftops at night. By day, the Daredevil is a lawyer.

This movie is a bad mixture of a string of Marvel comics. The plot lacks adequate explanation and is unsatisfying. The Daredevil is Ben Affleck, who needs to have a long talk with his agent.

The love interest, Elektra Natchios, is all any guy would want: beautiful, well-connected, very wealthy, except for the aforementioned habit of playing with knives, her eventual downfall. Elektra, played by Jennifer Garner, is a good guy in the movie. Her status in the comic book series is that of an assassin and antihero.

There has been a lot of hype for "Daredevil." Director Mark Steven Johnson seems to have stitched together uncritically the storylines from many comic books without giving the new viewer a chance to assimilate the background. 

Or maybe we are just getting fed up with neurotic rooftop superheroes.

This newspaper seeks the prompt return of two men who ran high-interest investment operations that have gone out of business.

Luis Enrique Villalobos Camacho, 62, was associated with Ofinter S.A., a money exchange house, and with his own private investment business that had about $1 billion in other people’s money on the books.

Villalobos closed his business Oct. 14 and vanished.

Louis Milanes operated Savings Unlimited and several casinos in San José. He left the country with other members of his firm the weekend of Nov. 23. He may have as much as $260 million in his possession. Both operations catered to North Americans.

Villalobos and Milanes are the subjects of international arrest warrants.  Associates of both men have been jailed.

A.M. Costa Rica has posted a $500 reward for information leading to the detention of either man with the hopes that others will make similar pledges. The newspaper believes that investors only will see some of their money when the two men are in custody.

Milanes has few supporters in San José. On the other hand, as the letters frequently on this page show, Villalobos still has supporters who believe that he will reappear and settle his debts. They believe he is in hiding because of a predatory Costa Rican government.