I'm somewhat looking forward to next month. I won't be forced into working 6AM-2PM everyday. I've been tired and cranky all month with this schedule.
Mother in law coming next week with an open ended ticket. Swear I just saw her.
Seems every month some drop side baby crib is being recalled. I'm going to use an old car tire and pillow for the fooderator.
Netbook is back in order. I'm glad I bought a "business" netbook versus a consumer netbook. The difference? I got next day shipping for my replacement hard drive. I called HP support Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning a new hard drive was dropped off. The reason I bought this model was it has an metal casing which protects the screen better than plastic as well a 7200 RPM hard drive.
Pondering a Macbook Pro 13 inch model as my next computer. Lots of pondering left too do.
Got bored yesterday. If I want to buy my Mazda5 next March I can do so for $12,337.
I miss playing Flight Simulator. One day I will build up a basic rig again.
Stumbled upon Kellis' blog from back in 2003 by using the Internet Archive. Pretty interesting looking back on when she bought her FIRST dog and traded in her Corolla for a SUV. Good stuff. Her archived site is here.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Glad I backed up
Nice long weekend in New York. I realized I only want one kid. My nieces are great...but three together....wow. No thanks.
My brother and sister in law work long hours...longer than me. Think my brother in law takes the cake with 17 hour long shifts. The most I can do is 16 hours...which I've done, but it's not the norm. My brother in law got screwed into a long shift because he arrested a guy and had to do the whole take them to jail and court thing. His being able to function on so little sleep is amazing. All that and he is thinking of getting a part time job?!?!??!?! Holy grey hairs Batman! Would make much more sense for his wife to get a part time job. He has a lot on his plate....and needs to let someone else eat a little.
Took Kelli, my mother in law Peggy, sister in law Jami and her girlfriend Kelly to the Engadget Show while in New York. Told them it's geeky/techy. They actually enjoyed it! The video is posted here www.engadget.com/2010/04/26/the-engadget-show-008-dr-dennis-hong-ryan-block-rick-karr/
On the way back I was nice and comfy in the exact same First Class seat I had on the way there when my netbook froze and displayed a Blue Screen Of Death. It had been acting a little funny over the weekend. Hard drive is now dead. A looong call to HP Support and they are shipping me a new hard drive. Glad I backed it all up on my Windows Home Server. On the next trip to Oregon I need to get a backup system going for my mother in law and brother in law. Same for trips to Sacramento for my sister in law. Should have done it for my brother in law while in New York. With all of them storing photos on their hard drives....they need a backup. Once I get the new hard drive in my netbook I can use the Windows Home Server to be up and running in under 30 minutes as it can restore the entire had drive.
Still wanting the Venza. Going to do my best too wait.
My label maker saved the day again. Kelli left her Kindle DX on the plane in her seat. We were sitting right up front. Thankfully none of the exiting passengers noticed it and grabbed it. Some how the cleaning crew didn't find it nor did the previous or next flight attendants. The plane sat for 3 hours. The next passenger found it, pulled it out and saw Kellis' name and number on the back and called it. Only then did Kelli remember she forgot it. We rushed back to the airport. Thankfully I can get thru security without a ticket and we live close. If we lived further away or were "normal" people it could have been dicey. When things are left on planes its turned over to the flight attendant, who gives it to a gate agent who gives it to an airport volunteer (who are old people and honest for the most part!) OR one of the wheelchair pushers (who have a VERY high turn over rate and as a group not trustworthy) to bring to a small office in Terminal B. From there they attempt to locate the owner. With a name and number odds are high. The hardest part is getting the item to that office. I love my label maker!
No Ipad for me. Played with it again while in New York. Just an expensive toy. I think I'm going to wait and buy a new Macbook Pro instead.
My brother and sister in law work long hours...longer than me. Think my brother in law takes the cake with 17 hour long shifts. The most I can do is 16 hours...which I've done, but it's not the norm. My brother in law got screwed into a long shift because he arrested a guy and had to do the whole take them to jail and court thing. His being able to function on so little sleep is amazing. All that and he is thinking of getting a part time job?!?!??!?! Holy grey hairs Batman! Would make much more sense for his wife to get a part time job. He has a lot on his plate....and needs to let someone else eat a little.
Took Kelli, my mother in law Peggy, sister in law Jami and her girlfriend Kelly to the Engadget Show while in New York. Told them it's geeky/techy. They actually enjoyed it! The video is posted here www.engadget.com/2010/04/26/the-engadget-show-008-dr-dennis-hong-ryan-block-rick-karr/
On the way back I was nice and comfy in the exact same First Class seat I had on the way there when my netbook froze and displayed a Blue Screen Of Death. It had been acting a little funny over the weekend. Hard drive is now dead. A looong call to HP Support and they are shipping me a new hard drive. Glad I backed it all up on my Windows Home Server. On the next trip to Oregon I need to get a backup system going for my mother in law and brother in law. Same for trips to Sacramento for my sister in law. Should have done it for my brother in law while in New York. With all of them storing photos on their hard drives....they need a backup. Once I get the new hard drive in my netbook I can use the Windows Home Server to be up and running in under 30 minutes as it can restore the entire had drive.
Still wanting the Venza. Going to do my best too wait.
My label maker saved the day again. Kelli left her Kindle DX on the plane in her seat. We were sitting right up front. Thankfully none of the exiting passengers noticed it and grabbed it. Some how the cleaning crew didn't find it nor did the previous or next flight attendants. The plane sat for 3 hours. The next passenger found it, pulled it out and saw Kellis' name and number on the back and called it. Only then did Kelli remember she forgot it. We rushed back to the airport. Thankfully I can get thru security without a ticket and we live close. If we lived further away or were "normal" people it could have been dicey. When things are left on planes its turned over to the flight attendant, who gives it to a gate agent who gives it to an airport volunteer (who are old people and honest for the most part!) OR one of the wheelchair pushers (who have a VERY high turn over rate and as a group not trustworthy) to bring to a small office in Terminal B. From there they attempt to locate the owner. With a name and number odds are high. The hardest part is getting the item to that office. I love my label maker!
No Ipad for me. Played with it again while in New York. Just an expensive toy. I think I'm going to wait and buy a new Macbook Pro instead.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Screw rational thought
Screw rational thought. At least that's what my thought process is now.
I've spent much of our time in New York thinking about cars. As much as I am content with my Mazda5.....I'm not happy with it. So I began mentally going through what I want in a car that I could seriously keep for 7 years.
Style, power, gas mileage and roominess.
The previous GMC Terrain that was on my short list was taken off.....too small a cargo area.
Now it's the Toyota Venza or Toyota Prius. The Venza is a crossover SUVish wagon vehicle. It's based off the Toyota Highlander. A loaded Venza with a very powerful V6, leather, 20 in wheels (standard on V6 models) and panoramic sunroofs (plural!!!) can be had for around $30K....which is my absolute hard limit for a car.
I've seen a few Venzas on the roads here.....very stylish....semi SUV looking and even with a V6 averages 23MPG...which is my low point. I won't buy a car with anything lower than 23MPG average. A 4-cylinder Venza gets better gas mileage...might be enough power. All Wheel Drive isn't terribly expensive, but I could live without it.
If I totally hate the Venza (not likely as I've been reading about it for 4 days) then I will likely head to a Prius. The new one's are smaller than our 2004 model. We're only having one kid and likely won't be driving more than 2 hours at a time, but having extra space for bulky objects is nice.
I've spent much of our time in New York thinking about cars. As much as I am content with my Mazda5.....I'm not happy with it. So I began mentally going through what I want in a car that I could seriously keep for 7 years.
Style, power, gas mileage and roominess.
The previous GMC Terrain that was on my short list was taken off.....too small a cargo area.
Now it's the Toyota Venza or Toyota Prius. The Venza is a crossover SUVish wagon vehicle. It's based off the Toyota Highlander. A loaded Venza with a very powerful V6, leather, 20 in wheels (standard on V6 models) and panoramic sunroofs (plural!!!) can be had for around $30K....which is my absolute hard limit for a car.
I've seen a few Venzas on the roads here.....very stylish....semi SUV looking and even with a V6 averages 23MPG...which is my low point. I won't buy a car with anything lower than 23MPG average. A 4-cylinder Venza gets better gas mileage...might be enough power. All Wheel Drive isn't terribly expensive, but I could live without it.
If I totally hate the Venza (not likely as I've been reading about it for 4 days) then I will likely head to a Prius. The new one's are smaller than our 2004 model. We're only having one kid and likely won't be driving more than 2 hours at a time, but having extra space for bulky objects is nice.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hope we have it as easy
Hanging out in Tomkins Cove, New York. My newest niece, Rene, is amazingly pleasant to be around. She is just 6 months old but sleeps through the night without a fuss. Never cries. Well not never. She was quiet the first 2 days...literally not a single wimper. On day 3 while stuck in New York traffic she went ballastic. Crying like she was dying. This was only after spending all day in Central Park. Since then she has been absolutely quiet. I hope we are so lucky.
My brother in law lives in a pretty small town in New York, yet has better Internet than I have. He has Verizon Fios is 20Mbps up AND down! I only have 20Mbps down and 2Mbps up. Ugh. I have run out of stuff to download.
Our Nexus One phones are proving very helpful. Well not so much the phones as much the Android software. The Google Navigation brought us from the Newark Airport to Tomkins Cove without paying a toll or getting stuck in bad traffic. All automatic....and free. Every time my brother in law brought us from the airport to his house we always paid a bunch of tolls.
My other nieces Haley, age almost 3, and Gianna, 4, are having a good time. Haley is just as tall as Gianna.....I think she's on roids.
Walked thru Central Park...it's huge. We parked on the wrong side from where we wanted to be. Almost two miles of walking later we reached the carosel. The kids had fun. We then walked another mile to a very quaint pizza place. Just one table, enough for the 9 of us. The owner didn't seem too enthused about putting pepperoni on his pizzas...but he did. All of the pizzas he had ready were uber fancy.
Today we are heading back into the city. Hoping to hit the Engadget show tonight at 6PM....that's if the others can last that long.
My brother in law lives in a pretty small town in New York, yet has better Internet than I have. He has Verizon Fios is 20Mbps up AND down! I only have 20Mbps down and 2Mbps up. Ugh. I have run out of stuff to download.
Our Nexus One phones are proving very helpful. Well not so much the phones as much the Android software. The Google Navigation brought us from the Newark Airport to Tomkins Cove without paying a toll or getting stuck in bad traffic. All automatic....and free. Every time my brother in law brought us from the airport to his house we always paid a bunch of tolls.
My other nieces Haley, age almost 3, and Gianna, 4, are having a good time. Haley is just as tall as Gianna.....I think she's on roids.
Walked thru Central Park...it's huge. We parked on the wrong side from where we wanted to be. Almost two miles of walking later we reached the carosel. The kids had fun. We then walked another mile to a very quaint pizza place. Just one table, enough for the 9 of us. The owner didn't seem too enthused about putting pepperoni on his pizzas...but he did. All of the pizzas he had ready were uber fancy.
Today we are heading back into the city. Hoping to hit the Engadget show tonight at 6PM....that's if the others can last that long.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Long day
Yesterday was a long day. I was assigned just one flight from Bentonville, Arkansas to Dallas. Being my last leg I wanted to fly fast....and I did. Also being my last leg I didn't care too much about how nice the landing was....just get'r done. Lucky for the passengers the landing was nice. After parking the plane at 9:15AM, I hopped in the awaiting Prius and was sped away at 9:30AM.
Walked in the front door at 9:50AM and began unpacking and then repacking my bag for the trip to New York. At 10:05AM we were headed back to the airport.
Parked my car in the employee lot and we were on the employee bus at 10:35AM.
The security line was somewhat long. Because I was not on duty I had to go through regular security. I stayed in uniform so I could bring all my liquids through.
Once clear of security I changed into "normal clothes". I had not eaten all morning....bought a fajita taco and coffee. We boarded the plane at 11:15 AM and took our seats in First.
Lunch was a Salmon salad for me and Chicken Parmesan for Kelli. A few cocktails later and we landed in Newark.
We rented a car for the first time ever in New York. A minivan from National. While at the counter I saw a Suburban out back. I asked how much more it would be. The agent said, "oh it shouldn't be much more."
Our minivan was $300 for 5 day all in. The Suburban would have been $540. Not much more my ass.
After mounting the Nexus One car dock I set up the phone for GPS and to be a wifi hotspot for my netbook. Away we went.
Should be fun. My sister in law Jami, her girlfriend Kelly and my niece Haley flew in from New York.
Walked in the front door at 9:50AM and began unpacking and then repacking my bag for the trip to New York. At 10:05AM we were headed back to the airport.
Parked my car in the employee lot and we were on the employee bus at 10:35AM.
The security line was somewhat long. Because I was not on duty I had to go through regular security. I stayed in uniform so I could bring all my liquids through.
Once clear of security I changed into "normal clothes". I had not eaten all morning....bought a fajita taco and coffee. We boarded the plane at 11:15 AM and took our seats in First.
Lunch was a Salmon salad for me and Chicken Parmesan for Kelli. A few cocktails later and we landed in Newark.
We rented a car for the first time ever in New York. A minivan from National. While at the counter I saw a Suburban out back. I asked how much more it would be. The agent said, "oh it shouldn't be much more."
Our minivan was $300 for 5 day all in. The Suburban would have been $540. Not much more my ass.
After mounting the Nexus One car dock I set up the phone for GPS and to be a wifi hotspot for my netbook. Away we went.
Should be fun. My sister in law Jami, her girlfriend Kelly and my niece Haley flew in from New York.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Rational thought
The older I get....the more rational I get. Which really sucks because I am capable of some seriously irrational thoughts.
The new car bug is all over me....but the rational part of me is killing the bug. There is nothing really wrong with my Mazda5. The stock tires are crappy....some chips in the paint on the hood....that's about it. The car gets 27MPG consistently, cheap to insure, can hold an IKEA run, and is somewhat stylish.
Right now I can get a lease buyout loan and have the Mazda paid off in 3 years. That would be equivalent to a 5 year auto loan. Bank of America has a lease buyout loan for 5.49%....which is low for lease buyouts. Alternatively I could buy a new car with 0 percent interest next year and have it paid off at worst in 2016. Hmm 2013 or 2016. Rational thought says 2013. Gonna sleep on the idea. Would be nice to not have a car payment. Kelli hasn't had a car payment in over 2 years. Hmmm...rational thought sucks.
The new car bug is all over me....but the rational part of me is killing the bug. There is nothing really wrong with my Mazda5. The stock tires are crappy....some chips in the paint on the hood....that's about it. The car gets 27MPG consistently, cheap to insure, can hold an IKEA run, and is somewhat stylish.
Right now I can get a lease buyout loan and have the Mazda paid off in 3 years. That would be equivalent to a 5 year auto loan. Bank of America has a lease buyout loan for 5.49%....which is low for lease buyouts. Alternatively I could buy a new car with 0 percent interest next year and have it paid off at worst in 2016. Hmm 2013 or 2016. Rational thought says 2013. Gonna sleep on the idea. Would be nice to not have a car payment. Kelli hasn't had a car payment in over 2 years. Hmmm...rational thought sucks.
Oh what too do
About 11 months left on my lease. Of course I've already started the replacement process in my head.
GMC Terrain, Prius, Toyota Highlander or keep the Mazda5.
The Bridges scored a hell of a deal on a Honda Pilot. They got a 2009 Touring model with only 6000 miles for a steal. This got me thinking into maybe a slightly used car. They are hard to find. Maybe.
Priorities are style, hatchback, MPG and MPG. Time will tell. Got lots of it.
Stopped by the dealer yesterday to get the Prius fixed. Three hours later it was "fixed". Drove 6 miles home. Hours later I drove 3 miles and the check engine light tripped back on. The car is back at the dealer.
They gave us a free rental car from Enterprise. Enterprise has the crappiest cars. They had to give us a Toyota. We got a smoked out Toyota RAV4 that has body damage and a stained passenger seat. WTF?!?!? Hopefully it will be fixed today.
While at the dealer I walked around a 2010 Prius. Salesman came out. I asked a few questions. Once again I knew more than a salesman. I would love to be a car salesman. No one would ever top me.
The negatives of a new Prius are:
Back seat has less legroom (so a baby seat would fit tighter)
Cargo area is smaller (less room for crap)
That's about it. I will likely do what I did with my last lease and see if I can trade it in early and "make money". I traded in my Acura 4 months early and even with the early termination fee, came out $1000 or so ahead. Seeing as the Mazda5 has less than 17K miles on it now, by the end of the year it will likely have around 21K miles...not bad for a 2 1/2 year old car.
GMC Terrain, Prius, Toyota Highlander or keep the Mazda5.
The Bridges scored a hell of a deal on a Honda Pilot. They got a 2009 Touring model with only 6000 miles for a steal. This got me thinking into maybe a slightly used car. They are hard to find. Maybe.
Priorities are style, hatchback, MPG and MPG. Time will tell. Got lots of it.
Stopped by the dealer yesterday to get the Prius fixed. Three hours later it was "fixed". Drove 6 miles home. Hours later I drove 3 miles and the check engine light tripped back on. The car is back at the dealer.
They gave us a free rental car from Enterprise. Enterprise has the crappiest cars. They had to give us a Toyota. We got a smoked out Toyota RAV4 that has body damage and a stained passenger seat. WTF?!?!? Hopefully it will be fixed today.
While at the dealer I walked around a 2010 Prius. Salesman came out. I asked a few questions. Once again I knew more than a salesman. I would love to be a car salesman. No one would ever top me.
The negatives of a new Prius are:
Back seat has less legroom (so a baby seat would fit tighter)
Cargo area is smaller (less room for crap)
That's about it. I will likely do what I did with my last lease and see if I can trade it in early and "make money". I traded in my Acura 4 months early and even with the early termination fee, came out $1000 or so ahead. Seeing as the Mazda5 has less than 17K miles on it now, by the end of the year it will likely have around 21K miles...not bad for a 2 1/2 year old car.
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