Obligatory quarterly post????

Ever notice how I tend to say I’m going to keep on top of things, and never do? I have no idea what causes that. Bleh. Anyways. I won’t promise that at all this time. Maybe it’ll have positive results.

So what’s been up with me? Well, finally plonked down on a good digital camera. I got a Canon 40D DSLR.  Which I would link to, except that Canon’s website is full of FAIL and won’t serve up a homepage right now. (GO ORACLE!) I so far LOVE the camera. I haven’t uploaded much, but you can certainly check out the cream of what I have taken on my Flickr account. I really want to get a macro lens for this bad boy and have fun. Things look so awesome close up. <3

Been working in the yard, as well. I took out all the white landscaping rock around the edge of the property and replaced it with sod. Unfortunately, this area gets so much sun, that while it was growing awesomely for a while, when the sun started to really shine and the days got hot, I got burned patches. I think what I need to do is plan for some shade trees, and plan out a new irrigation system. Right now, it is laid out so badly that I can’t possibly hit all the zones I need to. So….time to rip it up, get a controller that does two more zones for flowerbeds, and do it RIGHT. Also think I’m going to hire a landscape architect to draw up some plans for me – I’m hoping I can find someone who is just trying to get their foot in the door and would be willing to do it semi-cheaply. Well, here’s hoping, at least.

Also, my venerable F-150 truck seems to be showing its age. I believe I got screwed by a Grease Monkey franchise out here, because now I have rod knock where it never existed before, and when I brought it in to have it looked at, I was WAY low on oil – despite having no oil spots under where I park the car, or any indication I was burning oil. Le sigh. Not sure how much it’d be to get that fixed…. But I’ve been looking at a new/used car anyways. Now, my more ecologically-minded friends might kill me for stating this, but I started to do the math, and I don’t save all that much by going to a really high mileage vehicle. The Jetta TDI, which gets a real world average of 42MPG, would only save me $700 a year. Not a huge deal to me.

So I test drove a BMW 135i and 335xi, Subaru WRX, and a Mazda 3.

1. BMW 135i – God Jesus is this a fun car. Zippy as heck, gets 25MPG, feels like it is on rails. 0-60 in 4.7 seconds, I was in “hello Mr. Officer!” territory before I knew it. My gripes about the vehicle is near-useless back seats and the convertible had shitty rear visibility -  But the real dealbreaker was a request for low speed from a stop. It just felt like the car had to make up its mind, and when it did, it was a hyperactive GO GO GO that I really didn’t want.
2. BMW 335xi – Same Engine as the 135i, slightly larger frame, All wheel drive. I cannot stop thinking about this car. Handled like it was on rails, low speed requests were answered with refined haste, and it was still zippy as all heck. No roll AT ALL. Corners like a fighter plane. Good god, I know why BMW can command the prices they do.
3. Subaru WRX – Granted, the guy I had to test drive with was a bit of a prat. But this car was zippy, sure..not off the chain like the 135i was, but still nice. But good lord, the handling was ass. Rolled over more than my dog. Not impressed. Not for $30K.
4. Mazda 3 – This car totally surprised me. It’s a non-turbo 4 banger, but was plenty zippy, and handled much much better than the WRX. It’s not AWD, which sucks for here, but FWD is a little better than rear for snow, at least. I was amzed at this vehicle. For $21K and 29MPG, it had no right to be as nice a drive as it was. I would definitely want to add a turbo onto it – the Speed3 only comes in standard. (Sorry, it’s semi-auto or nothing for me anymore.)
5. Lancer EVO – I got to sit in it. They wouldn’t let me drive it. The seats can’t fit my fat American ass. The salesman was apologetic, but they want to keep those low mileage. Whatever.

Anyways – the search continues. Right now, the BMW 335xi and the Mazda3 are in the top running. If the BMW was $10K to $15K cheaper, or if I could find one used, I’d already be driving it. The experience was THAT good. Seriously. If you haven’t, go drive one. These are truly class machines.

So, I’ll leave this post here. Maybe more in another couple months.