furiousBlog

Long live the Yaris!

2008-07-03T22:33:00Z

To replace the newly-dead Camry, we bought a used 2007 Toyota Yaris. I had been looking into them a few months ago, but couldn't justify buying anything until the Camry kicked the bucket. It's too bad, though, because with the price of gas going up, everyone is buying Yarises (Yarii?) and the prices reflect the increased demand. When I was first looking, I found several used ones for around $10,000. Now, though, they're really hard to find and the prices have gone up. The dealership I bought from had two and was the only dealership within a hundred miles to have two. All the others had one or none. When looking, I would see a new listing and it would be gone

I wanted something small, looked ok and was more fuel-efficient. Oh yeah, it had to be affordable. The Yaris is definitely all of these things. It's small enough on the outside to park basically anywhere. Yet, it's surprisingly roomy on the inside and is quite comfortable even in the backseat. I was nervous about picking up slugs in it, so I got in the back even before the test drive. I did have two huge guys as slugs the other day, and it was a little snug.

I found a list of the top 8 or 10 most fuel-efficient cars of 2007 & the Yaris was #7. The rest were hybrids and costed on average twice the price of my Yaris. The 2007's mileage was listed as 34 or 35 city and 39 highway. The EPA changed how they calculate mileage, though and the new ones (same exact car) are listed as 29/35. Using some moderate hypermiling techniques, I'm hoping to get over 40, though. I plan on posting more on this later.

So, I love my Yaris. I've never really had a car that I actually liked. They've always been just cars. But, I actually enjoy driving the Yaris. It's like driving a go-kart (in a good way). Here are a bunch of pictures of it that I snagged from the dealership's site.

The camry is dead, a eulogy

2008-07-02T18:05:19Z

On Friday, June 20th at approximately 5:15 p.m., our Camry died a quiet death. It was very old and it was time for it to go. When something has lived a long full life, it is not a thing of sadness when it goes softly into the long sleep. The Camry was originally my parents' and I had been driving it for almost half of my life. It was model year 1994 and had 214,000 miles on it.

Recently, it had stopped working and was out of commission for several months. When he was finally able to revive it, my mechanic friend told me that the cooling system was rusting, the transmission was going and that massive timing belt failure was imminent. The coolant was a deep orange/copper color. I took it in and had a life-extending radiator flush performed. After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, but was really an agonizing two hours, the mechanic performing the flush came to me and told me that he had done all he could; he had flushed the radiator twelve times with little effect. I thanked him and took my ailing car home.

I put in some transmission fluid, and after that it performed beautifully--almost like it used to. I drove it every day with no problems. I could almost pretend that the inevitable was not near. Then, the window died and wouldn't close. I took it into the shop and they told me the cost and asked if I really wanted to spend that much on a car that is obviously on its way out. They were able to close the window and advised I not open it again. I thanked him and took my ailing car home again.

A few weeks later, I accidentally pressed the wrong button and opened the window a smidge. I couldn't get it back up, so I performed a little open-door surgery of my own. I cut the wires that are responsible for raising and lowering the window and attached a rope to the window sled. This way, I could close the window simply by pulling on the rope and then tying it onto the door handle. It was not an elegant sight.

We, the Camry and I, went on this way for a couple months until that fateful Friday, two weeks ago. It is only now that I can bring myself to speak of it.

The day was unremarkable, unlike any other. I had driven a couple slugs to work and a couple others home. Upon arriving home, I left again to take Elise to gymnastics. I dropper her off and started home. About two miles down the road the engine cut out and I drifted over the side of the road, knowing this was it--the Camry would never move of its own accord again.

There was much discussion of whether it even made sense to pay someone to tow it to the shop. In the end, we decided we should do so, just in case. We all knew it was futile, but still we hoped. Within hours, the shop called with the cause of death; the timing belt had given out. It gave its all right up to the last. It ensured that the slugs made it home and that Elise arrived safely at gymnastics. But then it could give no more and was gone.

Farewell, Camry. We thank you.

I love Joss Whedon -- UPDATED

2008-06-25T12:37:53Z

Have I ever mentioned that?

Here's the preview from his upcoming 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog':

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

In other Joss news, he will be returning to TV (his true home) with 'Dollhouse,' which also looks excellent.

And lastly, Cyndi & I are slowly rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We're nearing the end of season 2. It's truly the perfect TV show. Way better than that crap JK mentioned years ago when I told him he should watch it, but he wouldn't because he doesn't like 'that kind of show.'

Update 7/1/08: There's a comic to introduce the characters here.

Tweeting for Votes -- UPDATED

2008-06-23T13:05:52Z

I posted recently about the presidential candidates' usage of new tech, including twitter.

I'm still following both McCain & Obama (Clinton, too, but that's just because I haven't removed her yet). The stats in that previous post have continued along the same trajectories. McCain continues to tweet 2.5 times for each Obama tweet (M:343 , O:138; Obama still has about 29 times as many followers (M: 1,482, O:42,557).

I still can't decide who is using twitter to it's fullest potential. Obviously, Obama's tweets are spreading much faster than McCain's due to his overwhelming follower count, but McCain is using it more. Also, McCain will often reply to a direct message, showing that someone is actually reading the feed of people he's following. I haven't seen any replies from Obama, which indicates that he's using it more as a soapbox and less as an interactive communications medium. So, McCain probably wins on actually embracing twitter, while Obama is probably getting the most benefit from it.

While analyzing the statistics like this is interesting, it's obviously only a side note. What's far more important is the message that each candidate is putting out. To that end, here are a few recent tweets that I think are illustrative of each canidate's use of twitter. These are all pulled from the tweets currently showing on their twitter page, which shows the most recent twenty or so tweets. In case you think that my selections are biased, I invite you to visit either candiate's twitter page and see for yourself. I've linked them to their names in the second paragraph above. I'm certain that whenever you do this, even months from now, you'll see a similar tenor on each feed.

McCain:

New book "fleeced" by Dick Morris http://twurl.nl/iiayyc What would Obama do to country as President?

Obama with more endorsments: http://twurl.nl/vlexa4 from North Korean and Libyan Dictators, next Zimbabwe?

What do you think, has the surge worked? http://tinyurl.com/5vss6a

@MrBabyMan sorry I don't. Do you happen to know any dem leaders willing to help us lower oil prices by allowing drilling? Just looking

@MargaretSchaut Naw, that's not the case, ask average Joe who works all week to gain a Saturday with family, does he want Obama, nope

More hypocrisy http://twurl.nl/8y67d6 Obama manipulating patriotic images though he says there's too much manipulation of patriotism

Why are the Democrats working so hard to increase the price of gas?

Mitt Romney on Obama's problem http://tinyurl.com/6f7xsc

Israel taking precautions to protect themselves if Obama wins http://twurl.nl/1vsi3i and tries to force them to concede

Obama:

In Chicago,holding an economic discussion with the Democratic governors. Watch it live now at http://my.barackobama.com/l...

Made an important decision today and wanted to share it with you. Visit http://my.barackobama.com/m...

Honored to be endorsed by Al Gore in Michigan tonight. Watch live streaming video at 8:30pm EST at http://my.barackobama.com/l...

Wishing everyone a Happy Father's Day. Spoke today at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. Read remarks at http://my.barackobama.com/dad

Pleased with today's Supreme Court decision to bring terrorists to justice while also protecting our core values. http://www.barackobama.com

Kicking-off a two week tour focusing on the current economic crisis & the need for new economic policy: http://my.barackobama.com/N...

IN St Paul, MN speaking after securing the nomination. Watch the speech live on TV tonight or streamed http://my.barackobama.com/n...

In Middletown, CT. Pinch-hitting for Senator Kennedy and delivering the commencement address for Wesleyan University.

In MI, unveiling my manufacturing agenda. It's time to recapture the spirit of innovation that has always fueled America's economic success.

So, McCain is on the attack, while Obama is spreading ideas (wow, that doesn't sound at all like I'm drinking the Obama Kool-Aid, does it? ). Seriously, though, McCain's feed is filled with vitriol and sarcasm, while Obama is talking about his platform and campaign. You have to go back to April 3 to see a tweet that mentions McCain, and it's not the silly fear-mongering (next Zimbabwe?) coming from McCain:

Troubled by today's unemployment figures, the latest indicator of how badly America needs fundamental change from Bush-McCain policies.

While, the fact is that Obama will probably win due to Republican's current unpopularity (unless he royally screws something up, of course) this difference in attitude or strategy sure won't help McCain. It really shows him to be the same old politician that we all know and hate. It's really too bad, because for a long time, he was the only Republican a Democrat or left-leaning hater-of-all-parties like myself, could respect. But, just as Romney sold his previously-more-centrist political soul to the right-wing, so has McCain.

Update 6/23 2:00: Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking about politics & twitter: Twitter As a Campaigning Tool and How Twitter Can Change the Presidential Debate.

Schneier: The War on Photography

2008-06-18T16:53:39Z

A while ago, security expert and all-around common sense advocate Bruce Schneier wrote the following essay. He posted it to his blog the day before Lori was born; thus the delay in my posting about it.

The War on Photography

Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.

Except that it's nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.

It's quick and a must-read for anyone interested in photography or the erosion of our rights.

This brings to mind a couple of recent cases of security over-stepping their authority at DC's Union Station. First, was an NPR photographer who was testing some new equipment there when he was almost arrested. And then, while doing a report on photographers being hassled at Union Station, the camera crew of our local Fox affiliate was hassled by Union Station security.

Lori pics

2008-06-10T04:24:52Z

I've posted a bunch of photos of Lori & miscellaneous family members on my family photos site. Click the screaming baby if you'd like to check them out:

Announcing Lori Noelle!

2008-06-06T20:04:08Z

Just a quick post as I'm heading back to the hospital in just a minute...

Lori Noelle was born this morning at 2:16 a.m. She weighed 7lbs., 4.8 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long. As you can see from the picture below, she's absurdly cute:

Cyndi started having contractions around 5:30 or so yesterday evening. They got closer & closer until they were pretty intense and about 5 minutes apart at 12:45, at which point we called the doctor and he told us to head over the hospital. My parents came over to be with the other kids and we got out of the house around 1:15 a.m.

At the hospital we had to go through some registration process, even though Cyndi had pre-registered. It took forever. They wheeled Cyndi away about halfway through while I sat and waited. It took me about 20 more minutes to get to the delivery room.

By the time I got there, Cyndi had changed into a hospital gown and had had a couple more contractions. The doctor checked her and was surprised to find that she was dilated 9 cm and was basically ready to deliver. Cyndi had planned to get an epidural, but there was no time. Lori was born about 20 minutes later, almost exactly an hour after we walked out of our door. I spent more time in registration than I did in the delivery room.

Contrary to Nicole's post, while I do have a queazy stomach and did get a little grossed out, I didn't actually vomit.

Lori started crying even before the cord was cut and had great apgar scores. She took right to breast-feeding and is just a perfect, healthy little baby.

Hopefully, that clears up a few of the questions I got or inspired by my twittering during the event last night. I'll post the story of her name at some point in the next couple days.

Argh, stupid comments problem

2008-06-06T01:00:47Z

I used ScribeFire to post the last few entries. For some of them, it inexplicably disallowed comments. They should all be fixed now. I hope I can get this working correctly, because posting via ScribeFire is very convenient, but not if I still have to log in to the blog to allow comments.

Geometry domain name

2008-06-05T16:29:48Z

I really want the following domain name for my new geometry website:

http://www.cityofangles.com

Sadly, however, stupid buydomains.com is squatting on it.

How disappointing.

Mulch ad on Craigslist

2008-06-04T21:11:00Z

Another great CL ad:

Update: Too funny... the ad above is satirizing the following ad posted just minutes earlier:

Egg of sand

2008-06-04T15:00:27Z

Petit Port egg, originally uploaded by Lenny&Meriel.

Oddly beautiful. How to vid here. (via Make)

Barack Obama is now following you on Twitter!

2008-06-03T22:16:08Z

I decided I needed to follow more people on twitter, so I added several people, including the three presidential candidates. Within minutes, Barack Obama started following me, too, although I'm not sure why.

Several years ago, Jason suggested that it would be interesting to compare the techno-friendliness of our politicians by looking at their sites and how they use various other online outlets like blogs and now flickr & twitter, etc. I'd imagine that sooner, rather than later, this will be a moot point as they're all starting to embrace these things. It'll probably just end up being a race to see who can adopt a particular tech first.

Although, maybe that's not so true. There's definitely levels of adoption, so to speak. I'm not going to dig into this right now, but let's just take twitter for sake of argument and for sake of easiness as I have all three candidates' twitter pages up already).

Stats in alphabetical order:

Clinton:

Following 0
Followers 4,165
Favorites 0
Updates 172
Last 2 updates: 5 hours ago & 2 days ago

McCain:

Following 1,470
Followers 1,112
Favorites 4
Updates 324
Last 2 updates: 5 days ago & 7 days ago

Obama:

Following 35,978
Followers 34,958
Favorites 0
Updates 128
Last 2 updates: 21 minutes ago & 2 days ago

Now that I've got them all laid out, I'm not sure what they mean. They're certainly not what I was expecting. I assumed Obama would have the most people following him, which is true. But, I also assumed that he'd have the most posts, which isn't. So, what can we learn from the stats above?

...and why is Barack Obama following me?

Riots not Diets

2008-05-28T13:25:44Z

, originally uploaded by crl!.

This should've been in the "Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting" exhibit Cyndi and I went to while in NYC for our anniversary last year.

The problem with teleportation

2008-05-23T19:42:03Z

Here's something I've never thought about:

One problem with teleportation is that all the computers and machines in the world cant manage the task of taking a person apart atom by atom and putting it back together.

The other, philosophical, problem is: Would the person after teleportation still be the same? Or would it be a new, different person, only merely similar to the original one?

From shtikl.

Obviously, the more interesting question is the second. The first is just a matter of time. Sooner or later, you'll be able to take people apart atom by atom with your phone. But once you phone them somewhere else, will it still be them?

What do you think?

I am Charlie, but really I'm John

2008-05-22T15:59:33Z

This silly lost quiz thinks I'm Charlie:

...but, I think I'm more of a John Locke:

But, maybe--with my dashing good looks and penchant for attracting former (and sadly, not so former) heroin addicts--I'm a Claire: