TL;DR
KeriBlog.com – Cars, Security & a Peek into my Life
Weighted in that order.
$11+ million in cars tested, 3 years with the newspaper, then a tiny segment on TV. 2,300 posts of some quality stuff, mostly nonsense.
- Use Tags to search by make & model
- Newspaper column Index Page
- YT link to Motoring TV on TSN
- Best part of the job – Track time
Hi, I’m Keri
Thank you for scrolling.
Like cars, love driving.
I bold so you can skim.
This all started from The Canadian Explorer, my 3-year internet show about Canada. I often also blogged and Tweeted about my car, and driving.
So auto manufacturers begin to offer me press cars?!
I launch this blog. It’s 2010.
The Lincoln parlays into a Honda, now I’m talking to GM, can’t believe this is working, thank you, yes, I would be pleased to attend your event.
Search by Make & Model using Tags
Ex. – search “Ford” > blog post > scroll to end > tags
Built relationships with the manufacturers, so for years, it was a new car every Monday – Car Swap Day.
One week it’d be a Jaguar SVR, next week a base model Chevy Spark, lime green. What’s an oil change and insurance, don’t even know. Awesome as it sounds.
Photos are not clickable, sorry. Here’s a search bar, though:
For 3 years I was an automotive journalist with the Sun Media News Network of newspapers, and their online arm, Autonet.ca.
I wrote the news and reviews, but by far the best part was my column:
Keri on Driving– 400 words / week
on whatever I wish
Here’s the Index Page, the 150th Anniversary column, and 9 favourites.
Couple Highlights: if buying a new car go here LIKN , tip twice the valet, and don’t be road rage guy. Mystery of the checked flag, mocking those with no licence and espousing truckers and also car guys. Proudly putting down EVs since 2013.
akfjhdskfjdfjdjfkdsj & fjdkfjkdsjfkdsjfds
kajfksjfkdsjfsjfsfj fkfjkf
Traffic.
Got really into traffic & patterns for a few years.
How it flows, doesn’t, so interesting.
JFKDFJKDJFD LIST 3 traffic articles LINK LINK
ajfkdjf jfksfjksdfjdslfd. Parking chatter, road signs and road trips KIBJK
Licence plates, limos, and giant vehicles skew my bias
Date night idea – turn your car into a movie theatre. Perhaps later – car camping.
Auto Shows:
- North American International Auto Show (15) – NAIAS
- Canadian International Auto Show (9) – CIAS
- Los Angelos International Auto Show (13) – LA
Align right will look cool.
can I get this printed, rats nest hairdo, yes I can
fkdsajfkdslfjsl talking about the car wash.
jhjhh Ken Block, road signs hiding things in press cars, try my invention, Morning Drive: great way to start the day, done it for decades
Adventures around North America
When manufactures launch a new car, it’s with extravagance in an exciting location.
With VW in Napa massive test fleet so no co-driver, Honda to the Florida swamp, private plane to an IIHS crash test, Mazda 3-state rally including Tail of the Dragon, factory driver for Nissan at Targa, Jeep Jamboree, more.
Proving grounds at Ford, saw inside their factory, too. ever heard of their seat man test? LIST and LIST s
hiding happy meal toys, morning drive, VIDEO
PHOTO collage
Furthest I travelled was to Hungary with Audi, and the Yukon with Subaru. Blog tag = KSDJFKD.
If this applies to you, please: remove the tacky dealership license plate bracket, replace it with a clear cover, both front and back, $20.
Tech in Cars
LIST TAGS HUD OBDII port, fake engine sounds 100 CPUs , AI lights in Toronto a first LINK
Bluetooth in auto, GPS , the black box in your car ,
Auto industry pushes a lot of tech, research, got to see lots – proving grounds, ford plant, Blackberry’s QNX OS is backend of most manufacturers dash software , WiFi in cars , the Black Box in your car and the connected car
Automotive Security
Blog tag Auto Security (44) has some fun stuff. LIST LINKS
afdsf list LINKS x 5 car camouflage, armoured cars, LINK
link link , how to cheat at motorsports , solving crime using car clues
Car Hacking looks like this 👇
asfdsfjdsf fjksjfkdsjf LINK LINK LINK tag stick families don’t do it
End of my Jetta
Ended 2015 with a spark under the steering wheel. Dedicated a column to saying goodbye (oh the anthropomorphizing, eh.)
– 1999 Jetta Wolfsburg 2.0L FWD 5-spd outputting 115 hp & 122 lb-ft
My *New* Mk7
2016 VW Golf, 1.8 TSI, 5-spd, 170hp & 184 lb-ft
Tinted, lowered & added 18s
Best Part of the Job – Track Time
Imagine replicating this:
Wide variety of tracks from Mosport to go-kart at Atlanta, desert driving, off-roading, mountain logging trails, endless parking lot autocross, tire testing, open wheel and go karts too, skid pads, in a wide assortment of cars, professional instructors and training, tire and brake wear don’t care, this is a brand new car remember, also here’s some fancy food.
HOW… the logistics, time invested, the cost alone… CAN’T.
I’m not particularly fast, but okay at precision.
Below is my best win.
Blog tag = Race Track
Learned to drive a stock car, drove it on an oval (just me though, no other cars.)
I like to drive everything.
There’s ~100 of these headers sprinkled around here. LINK , sidebar art too LINK
Auto Videos
They’re nothing special, but, being able to write, produce, film, host, and edit helped bring about the final phase of this automotive journey.
I land a small very tiny television segment. ‘It’s Keri Time’ on Motoring TV on TSN. Five seasons 2018-2020
Write and produce episodes, interviews and car reviews.
And this is cool: 2nd longest-running TV show in the world. Canadian!
Here is a playlist of all episodes.
(not pumped about them tbh… going from internet to TV, having a cameraman for some, others I’m filming me meh, not being the editor, it was, different. I talk too much with my hands.)
The Last Test Drive
March 2020 – the day Covid shut down the world.
I was filming what would be my last episode, and the end of being an auto journalist.
“Manual is superior, here’s why”
2020 VW GTI
Adore manual, all my cars have been, big blog tag – Manual
Closing shot was slowly revving my way through that tunnel.
3 months after this day,
I hit the Reset Button
It’d been months of quiet study. I believe I now have a handle on what’s happening, and where it’s headed.
- Sold my house (doubled my investment. Mogul.)
- Sold all stocks, bought gold (in at $1,850 USD)
- Sold all belongings with the house. Now it’s outfits, office, and a box of books basically.
Total I Own – Fall 2020
2025
Been in Southern Ontario (tried Alberta, came back), love my new skill set – “Organizer”, learned Russian and a whole lot about politics, too.
**Those of us with only one passport,
should give serious consideration what that means**
Lastly, lots here that’s
not cars… could be fun?
I documented my desk a lot, This Week’s Flowers , got one definition in Urban Dictionary LINK and declared these lines as mine, into perpetuity – Keri Owned Phrase (23)
#ThursdayNight best night of the week and #SundayCleaning LINK
Little games I made up, bought a BBQ using only Canadian Tire money, chitchatting about video editing, went through a casino phase (video poker) because I like pattern recognition LINK LINK LINK the planets,
learned how to weld. Animated Gifs (55) and GPS a night out
Videos (38) 👇 of drivel.
fjkdgjdslfgjfdg and I’ve never liked Facebook.
smash can jimmy , just one trunk, just a minute, #SundayCleaning , fashion of hats boots jogging pants tag LINK is huge. Knew the PR company was bad at cleaning their list when I got invited to fashion events. Years later in 2025, still fanny packs and hats.
fjdksfjdsafjdklsf Vegas section is big even though I don’t like it, here’s a few more travel tags: LIST LIST LIST LIST
also airports ,
Stuff about the mind, and making predictions about the future. Thought-controlled computing. Binaural beats LNK
Hand over mouth when thinking, always.
A favourite tag – I AmNotaHippie.com
> One line of text, one photo
Things I saw, and what I thought.
Scrolls well with coffee – BlogTag (434)
(started on Posterous lol remember them)
Quick word on sponsored posts: there’s basically none, the ~10 are labelled clearly. A journalist should never accept things, and I was rigid with this.
How do I have a copy of that list lol / LINK LINK LINK roofing party, on a billboard in Dundas Square for 2 seconds.
When I wanted a break from writing about cars, I wrote about low-level security stuff. Described it as, “advice for the housewives of Iowa.”
Low-level Security Stuff
LIST LINKS ransomware and security through obscurity
Bluetooth, prox cards, RFID. WiFi security, never use airport WiFi LINK. physical security – lockpicking surveillance , and backup your stuff. Lots on passwords, of course. ADD COLLAGE HERE
WiFi security,, if you need a not-in-service number here’s two, social media security, various types of Attacks, phishing, vishing, and the largest tag is Social Engineering obvs.
Low level security info, housewives of Iowa level stuff, / drones, thought the 700 MHz spectrum was gonna be bigger deal than it turned out to be, which was nothing at all / part-time security guard downtown Toronto / AI / GPS a night out , MITM , EXIF data, metadata, and that’s so meta. Put it in plain sight, try my dead drop idea.
Below is the playlist of security-themed videos (8).
First one is my favourite.
URL’s not bad, eh: SmartenUpInternet.com.
Still own it. Still collect URLs.
Security Conferences:
Had to be sawed out of that LINK plumbing pipe, and had the best neighbours LINK one could. Cool USB keys. Collage of companies I worked with. Sorry pics aren’t linked up, search works though: PHOTO COLLAGE LOGOS
For decades the microwave and stove have been storage. Tag – Blogging About Food.
Below is my Twitter header, lol unchanged since 2012.
First-Time Home Owner – documented that, too. 2014 I went from a grocery store in my basement, to a country cottage I winterized while living in it. First three months I was a
Squatter with a Mortgage
Before & After pics here, tag is house, which came with the best neighbours (see also tag – fire.)
For a minute I was the Ontario Sales Manager for Dent Wizard. PDR dent removal, and ran a wheel refinishing truck, too (gave me dreams where I’m yelling, “torque the wheels”)
*Sales is not for me*
The high of closing wears off in one second,
then it’s just crying through hundreds
of kms/day in a non-fun car
Did well on cannibas stocks, was out of the game by fall 2016.
So I’ve been quite sick for some time lol (rename the fever tag – thyroid storm – 25 total plus goiter. Two back to back major surgeries in 2017. Now I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, and a better person for it. Posted about this only once, and this also explains that horrible haircut.
Hard Work Heals
1st summer after surgeries I did construction, 2nd summer I cut down trees. Good ‘ole manual labour, sun, and I laughed a lot. Acquired many new skills, and added Boom Lift to my list of, “Can Drive.”
I quit the internet around this time. Zero social media, some light texting and that’s it; wouldn’t use my phone for days, for about 2.5 years.
I still talk on the phone a lot, that’s decades old. Tags – Cell phone, Headset & Talking on the phone.
Best Way to Navigate: Related Posts
Thumbnails are not clickable, sorry. Here’s a search bar, though:
Lots of sitting quietly.
Inside my imagination. Of which I’m very protective.
Me laughing really hard.
lol
Thank you for reading this far! Sincerely.
Wishing you great drives,
Like cars, love driving.
xo
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