THINGS THAT WORK: So the Mazda sits a lot, especially in the winter: I don’t like to drive it when the weather’s bad, especially when there might be salt residue on the road. And now that the Insta-Daughter is driving, her car often blocks it in. That means that the battery sometimes gets low. I don’t really worry, because I’ve got a jumpstarter, but since that can’t be good for the battery, I bought a NoCo Genius charger to keep it on trickle-charge. Works like a charm. Also good for reviving dead batteries.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “I got the Duracell model from Amazon about a year ago when my stepdad stopped driving his car regularly. Does a nice job and under $20 bucks.”