Car shopping

Every now and then, I look around to see what is available on the used car market.  My wife says I can never be satisfied with what I am driving.  I love reading ads for cars on craigslist.  Yesterday I saw one that started, "I am an Indian man selling a 1999 Honda Accord."  Ok, thanks for getting that out there.  Next time I sell a car I'm going to list it as "White American selling 2001 Saab 9-5."  Somehow I don't think that will go over too well.

I just read an ad today from a dealership that listed a slew of "features" for this particular car (my comments in green):

• Dual Sport Mirrors -- What could possibly be sporty about mirrors?
  
• Air Conditioning -- Check.
  
• Remote Trunk Release -- This sounds fancy, but really, it's just a button on the floorboard.
  
• Remote Fuel Door -- see above
• Intermittent Wipers -- This keeps you from having to switch them off an on manually, right?
  
• Dual Power Mirrors -- Ahh.. so that's what makes them sporty.  The Dual Power.
• Tachometer -- OK.. it's an automatic.
• Electronic Radio -- What a relief it's not one of those hand-crank ones.
• Guage Cluster -- To my knowledge every car since the 1940s has had this.
• Upgrade Cloth Seating -- Not leather, but not that cheap cloth it usually comes with.
  
• Quad Tire Package -- Trust me, this is an excellent upgrade from the Tri-tire package.
  
• Carpet Flooring -- Ooo Fancy.. Can I get it in hardwoods?
  
• Front Bucket Seating -- Good.  I'm tired of sitting in the back.
  

The harsh realities of small-town crime

The local paper here in Cary, NC has a section called "Police Blotter" that highlights the crimes reported that week.  This is the best of the week, hands down.  Needless to say, there isn't a whole lot of crime in Cary.

First week on the scooter

Well weather has cut my first week short, so I'm back on 4 wheels today. So I thought I'd go ahead and give my first week impressions of the new scooter.

First off, I love the look of it, I think it has a definite Euro style to it that the rental scooter lacked.  I've gotten a lot of comments on it.  People want to know 2 things in general: 1) How fast will it go? and 2) What kind of gas mileage does it get?

Well I can't fully answer #1.  There is a break-in period where I'm supposed to lay off the throttle.  So I haven't fully opened it up.  Typical speed is around 35, but cruising on a flat surface has gotten me up to 40.  Downhill I buried the needle once, which tops out at 50.  Uphill, it can slow to as little as 25 depending on the length of the hill and if you got a running start or not.  I'll know better when the break-in period (about 150 miles) is done.

As for #2, I can't really answer that fully either.  The manufacturer says 75mpg, but with an engine this small, there are a lot of factors.  My weight, my terrain, my driving habits.  All play into it. I haven't gone through a tank of gas yet, so I can't say what I'm getting now.

The benefits. I've gone 60 miles on it this short week.  Based on current gas prices, that's a savings of $13 over driving my car. But more important than saving money, I feel like I'm doing my part to reduce petrol consumption.  Since I've travelled on less than one gallon of gas what would have taken me over 4 in the Saab.

The cons. The biggest complaint right now, is that it is full of this shipping oil (which will be replaced with smokeless synthetic at 300 miles) that smokes at startup like crazy.  As a result, I smell like I've been using a chainsaw when I get to work.  This will be resolved of course, after the first oil change.

Overall, I love my new scooter!

Adventures in hotel theft -- Conclusion

That's right, conclusion. And not the "oh well this is just never going to happen" type.  

On April 29 I received an email from the hotel with a Western Union money order attached. It was in the amount of €140 (rather than $140). So that settles it, I can replace my stolen items and pick up the broken pieces of my life and move on.

Dear Mr. Foxx,
please find enclosed copy of the order of payment of € 140,00 to your name. As you can see your Dollars have grown up to more than 200.
I would be really happy if you had a possibility to meet Ms. ****** of ***** – who unfortunately suffered a theft as well- and offer her a drink with the compliments of **** Hotel to both of you. Just a little thought to attest our disappointment in this adverse event.
You are going to be asked for a code that you can see on top of the sheet: 132…(10 digits)
Also be informed that you need to know the name of the sender as it appears on the sheet in your hands: ***** ***** ********
I really appreciated your comprehension in this unfortunate circumstance.
Best regards
**** ***** *******

Hooray for happy endings!

Stop gunky build-up...

Eat our hot dogs.

This is what happens when you don't remove the old promo card before
you put in the new one. You end up making outlandish claims about your
hotdogs. Who knows maybe they really do clean out the system.

New Scooter!

Well I broke down and bought a new scooter today. I had researched all I could really, and trying to decide which one to get was starting to have a negative effect on my personality. It was driving my wife crazy. She can only take so much of my obsessing.

So I landed a Benelli Andretti m50. I thought it fitting that I buy an Italian-designed scooter, since the genesis of this obsession was my recent trip to Italy. I have only driven it the short distance from the dealership to my house. So far, I love it and it looks beautiful sitting in my driveway.

My possible future as an Idol impersonator

I have been told now by more than one person that I bear at least somewhat of a resemblance to one of the American Idol contestants named David Cook.  A stranger even stopped me once to tell me as much.  It went like this, I held the door for her, and her response was, "Thanks.. hey you kinda look like that guy on American Idol." Uhm.  Thanks?

So, what do you think?  Separated at birth?  I hope he wins, then maybe I can have a career as an Idol impersonator.