Dear Ace: Why does water taste bad when it’s been sitting around for a while? (Especially true in a plastic bottle or closed container.)—Horatio Algae Horatio: Fascinating beverage question! First, let Ace rule out the obvious. Are you sure you’re drinking from the same glass? Does the water taste fishy? Could you possibly have picked […]

Dear Ace: Whatever happened to Sparky’s Flaw? Was it fixed?—Dylan Bobbit Dylan: When a pop rock band incorporates a “flaw” into its name, it immediately becomes fodder for bad jokes like yours. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the Flaw boys debuted their new name—Parachute VA—on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. As […]

Dear Ace: How long do clothes need to wash to be clean?—Jim Patient Jim: Mother Atkins, is that you? Ace thought he told you not to bother him at work. He assumed that you learned your lesson back when he refused to answer, “What do you do when your grown son won’t return your hourly […]

Dear Ace: If there are any more construction projects along Water Street that gobble up the street behind fences for their own use, we won’t be able to drive on it anymore. How do those private operations get to claim public roadways for their own use? Do they pay anything to the city for inconveniencing […]

Dear Ace: What’s up with all the babies on the Downtown Mall? Has Charlottesville experienced a recent population explosion? Lately all I see are strollers when I walk Downtown.—Martin Shortie Martin: Ace knows what it’s like to stumble down the Mall after one too many whiskey sours and then trip over a double-wide stroller. And […]

Dear Ace: I see a few vehicles driving around Charlottesville with license plates that have FARM USE in bold red letters. What does this mean? Are these vehicles insured like any other vehicle?—Mitch Fork Mitch: Father Atkins might be cross with Ace after he finishes revealing this, but when Ace was a young man, his […]

Dear Ace: What is your rule of thumb?—Digit Bardot Digit: As much as Ace loves to talk about himself (and does so, on occasion), he fears his paltry answer would leave you, dear reader, feeling a bit slighted. So, in an effort to avoid wasting perfectly good column inches, perhaps the bigger question should be: […]

Hey Ace: Last night I called the cops because I heard an untoward noise in my neighborhood. Will I get fined if I call too many times?—Buzzy B. Buzzy: Funny you should mention that. Years ago, a less wise—and, curiously, less handsome—version of yours truly whittled away the midnight hours by stirring up trouble with […]

Dear Ace: The Shoppes of Clover Lawn is a shop-ping center on Rockfish Gap in Crozet. Why do the businesses in that area, including Blue Ridge Builders Supply across the street, have Charlottesville addresses and not Crozet ones? —Biff Clavin Biff: Bear with Ace, because the answer to this question may be slow going. But […]

Dear Ace: When they make the snow at Wintergreen, where does all the water come from, and how does it get onto the slopes? I’ve read some unsavory things about the water used in snow making at other ski slopes.—Dwight Stuff Dwight: Ace works on a pretty low budget here at the C-VILLE office, so […]