eyewear

It’s a great example of my luck that just hours after I change the header graphic on this site from the generic blue fade to a shot of what some have called my signature glasses, I manage to break them. Again.

I’ve had two pair of those “clubman” glasses: the first a vintage pair by American Optical I found in a resale shop for $8, and the second a pair of reissues by Shuron. The Boy broke the first pair twice with his ninja-fast Hand of the Cobra attack, and the second pair with a mighty headbutt. I somehow managed to break the second pair (after replacing the right temple after the massive headbutt attack) in the SAME EXACT PLACE.

I’m starting to think I need a different pair. And, after five or six years with the same style of specs, I might be due for a refresh anyway.

UPDATE: 2005.06.27: I decided to just order some new temples for the current specs. Why screw with a good thing (and, more importantly, why spend $300 instead of $40)?

WordPress action

I started the migration to WordPress tonight. I got it installed supa-quick, and I got all my previous MT-powered posts imported with seemingly few hitches. I’ll be putting together a new design (“theme” in WP parlance) over the next few weeks. “Why not design the new look first then move to WP?” you ask. Well, because I was tired of MT, and I wanted to keep up my renewed interest in blogging. I’ll catch up soon.

2005 Toyota Prius: First Impressions

This is based on about, oh, an hour’s drive time in the Prius. First, what I think is fairly irrelevant, since it’s The Wife’s car. But, I like it. I don’t love it, but I like it. As far as a passenger sedan meant for getting you from point A to point B as efficiently as possible while remaining comfortable, it’s aces. It’s NOT a sports car, but it’s got acceptable acceleration and handling. It’s surprisingly roomy (but, then again, everything seems roomy compared to the MINI) and comfortable. After borrowing a friend’s Toyota Sienna mini-van last week to haul the racecar bed in, I’d say the Prius is the most minivan-like car I’ve ever driven, and that’s not a slam. You sit up pretty high and there’s no hood in front of you (due to the silhouette of the car).

It’s got some good and/or interesting features: The climate controls are on the steering wheel (as are the audio controls), which I like quite a bit (you can also adjust the climate controls via the touchscreen). It has a lot of storage in the center console, thanks in part to Toyota’s use of the old-school foot e-brake (it’s in the Sienna, too). The JBL stereo sounds pretty good once you dial it in a little, though I know that stereo has gotten a bad rap in some places. There are a number of small, oddly-shaped windows on it. Not real sure why, as they don’t seem to really do much.

That’s about it for a random first impression dump. More later when I’ve spent some more time in it. But, I think it was a good choice for The Wife, and, most importantly, so does she.

The Prius is coming! The Prius is coming!

In April, The Wife order a Toyota Prius, which (if you’ve been living under a rock for the last year or two) is their hybrid car. When she ordered it, they said it would be 9-14 months, due to massive demand. We weren’t stoked about that, but we weren’t planning to replace her aging Nissan Altima for at least another 8 months. Well, on Monday, the dealer called and said it would be here this Friday! W00t! So, we’ll have a cool new car to take on our family reunion roadtrip this weekend. More details and photos after we actually get it.

UPDATE 2005.06.18: The truck carrying our Prius didn’t arrive at the dealer until after 5pm Friday, so they couldn’t have it ready for us to pick up until Saturday. But, we’re across the state at a family reunion (pics to be Flickrized sometime this coming week). So, She’ll be picking it up Monday morning. Comments, reviews, etc. forthcoming.

MINI XM… FINALLY!

After months of deliberation, I finally put XM Radio in my MINI. I used the Blitzsafe adapter (BMW/MINI SLD01) and the XM Direct unit. It was a quick and easy install, and it works great! No more crappy terrestrial radio in MY car.